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Biography
Infobox musical artist|name = Boris|image = Boris (band).jpg|caption =|image_size =|landscape = yes|background = group_or_band|alias = Fangs Anal Satan http://www.amoeba.com/live-shows/videos/boris.html boris live at Amoeba Music|origin = Tokyo , Japan |genre = Drone metal , experimental rock , nowrap| noise rock , psychedelic rock , Ambient music|ambient , sludge metal , stoner rock , Japanese noise rock |years_active = 1992–present|label = F.A.S. Southern Lord Records|Southern Lord Hydra Head Records|Hydra Head Inoxia Records|Inoxia Diwphalanx Records|Diwphalanx Conspiracy Music|Conspiracy UK Quatro Pedal Records Sargent House |associated_acts = Sunn O))) Merzbow Keiji Haino Michio Kurihara Ian Astbury |website = http://homepage1.nifty.com/boris/ Official site|current_members = Atsuo Wata Takeshi|past_members = Nagatanihongo| Boris |???|Borisu is a Japan ese experimental rock band, known for often combining and switching between different music genre s including drone metal , sludge metal , noise rock , psychedelic rock , Ambient music|ambient and Pop music|pop . Currently, the band's personnel consists of drummer-vocalist Atsuo, bassist-guitarist-vocalist Takeshi, and guitarist-vocalist Wata.Boris takes its name from a song on the Melvins ' Bullhead (album)|Bullhead , and released its first album, Absolutego , on the group's own label, Fangs Anal Satan, in 1996. Since then, they have released 17 studio albums (including such acclaimed works as Pink (Boris album)|Pink , Heavy Rocks and Akuma No Uta ), a number of EPs, 7" singles, and full-length collaborative recordings, on various record labels around the world.
History
Boris was originally a four-piece band, with Nagata on drums. Nagata departed in 1996 leaving Atsuo to take over drumming duties and it has remained a three-piece since.Altar liner notes (Daymare 3LP pressing)
From its formation, Boris' members have made deliberate efforts to avoid being pigeon-holed, or too strongly associated with any musical style. "Having some kind of preconceived message or theme is very boring to me," noted Atsuo, the band's drummer. "It becomes a crutch. Just say what you want to say." http://www.radcompany.net/Storys/NewsStorys/BORIS/BORIS.html "Atsuo – BORIS/boris." Rad Company. Date unknown. Retrieved on March 23, 2007.
The band's influences are eclectic, with Sleep (band)|Sleep , Nick Cave , Nick Drake , Venom (band)|Venom , and the Melvins being a few of the more important ones. The group quickly realized that they did not fit in with the Japanese hardcore punk scene that birthed them, though they retain a fondness for the scene and its music. http://www.southernlord.com/press/borissmile/interview.php Boris – Smile
2005's Pink (Boris album)|Pink was met with considerable critical praise and a strong response from music fans when reissued in the US on Southern Lord Records . Blender magazine|Blender magazine and SPIN Magazine|SPIN magazine both named it one of 2006's best albums. http://www.blender.com/guide/articles.aspx? ID=2332& src=wiki "The 50 Greatest CDs of 2006." Blender Magazine Online. Jan/Feb 2007. Retrieved on February 9, 2007. The album also topped the metal section of Canada|Canadian magazine http://www.exclaim.ca Exclaim's 2006 Reader's Poll, and was in the top 10 of Pitchfork Media 's Top 50 Records Of 2006.
Boris' 2006 vinyl-only release, Vein (Boris album)|Vein , focused on a sound derived from classic Japanese crust punk|crust bands, such as Gloom, Confuse, and Gai.
Boris has said in an interview with Pitchfork that after being in a band for so long, "it is easier to write songs now. http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/50046-interview-boris Pitchfork: Interviews: Boris
Boris is a band that focuses a lot of their time on touring. In an interview, Atsuo said: "That we tour so much and release so many albums, I think it is representative of what we’re about. Direct communication is something we’ve lost in this day and age. It’s a shame – even interviews are over the phone. I think it’s important to see people face to face – that's why it's so important to go on tour. It’s something very basic to humans that we’ve lost lately." http://www.prefixmag.com/features/boris/interview/17580/ Boris: Interview
Boris opened for Nine Inch Nails on part of the fall 2008 segment of the List of Nine Inch Nails tours#Lights in the Sky|Lights in the Sky tour.cite web | url = http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/145220-boris-health-the-bug-to-open-for-nine-inch-nails | title = Boris, HEALTH, the Bug to Open for Nine Inch Nails | publisher = Pitchfork Media | accessdate = 2008-09-12 They also appeared on the avant-garde metal soundtrack to Jim Jarmusch 's film The Limits of Control . Regarding Boris, Jarmusch said that "what's really remarkable is when they play live they're in the mode, in a way, of jazz musicians, not structurally or musically, but the way they listen to what the others are doing and build on it. Each time they play something it's obviously different, every time."Jim Jarmusch and Alan Licht, "Invisible Jukebox," The Wire (magazine)|The Wire 309, November 2009, p. 23.
Boris played the All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)|ATP New York 2010 music festival in Monticello, New York where they performed Altar in collaboration with Sunn O)))
On 29/05/2010 Boris performed "The End" with Ian Astbury at Vivid Festival on Sydney. http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=2bAuvSYb1D0& feature=player_embedded Ian Astbury and Boris The End @ Sydney Opera House 2010 Boris and Astbury released a four-song EP in September 2010 on Southern Lord and Daymare Records that contains four tracks entitled Teeth and Claws, We are Witches, Rain (The Cult cover), Magickal Child. http://pitchfork.com/news/39000-boris-team-with-the-cults-ian-astbury/ Pitchfork: Boris Team With the Cult's Ian Astbury http://www.diwproducts.com/prd.php? DYMC126 ???? http://blog.southernlord.com/? p=271 Southern Lord Records >> BXI= Boris Collaboration With Ian Astbury!
In 2011, Boris released three albums: their first major release with a major producer on AVEX/Tearbridge label and an album on Sargent House called "Attention Please".Sargent House. http://twitter.com/sargenthouse/status/21050490150195200 Boris to release new albums in Spring 2011: "New Album" on Daymare Recordings, "Attention Please" on Sargent House and "Heavy Rocks" on Southern Lord twitter.com. 2010-12-31. Retrieved on 2011-01-18.
Instrumental setup
As mentioned, Boris play music in a variety of genres. This dictates that their setup in a live environment be equipped with many different effects pedals and other guitar accessories. Wata uses an E-bow to achieve bow-like sounds or to manipulate feedback; this device is held in the hand, like a Guitar pick|pick , but relies on a magnetic field vibration to move the guitar's strings.
Takeshi typically plays a Double neck guitar|double-necked bass/guitar live, which allows him to drone away on the guitar during longer numbers but quickly switch to bass without needing to switch instruments. He used an Ibanez SG-style model, and a Steinberger Spirit, before acquiring a custom-built double-neck instrument from First Act Guitars in 2009 designed by Takeshi. He previously used a Music Man Stingray bass. Wata uses Orange Amplification|Orange heads and cabinets, as well as a Matamp head also favoured by stoner metal groups Sleep (band)|Sleep and High On Fire and an Ampeg 810 cabinet; Takeshi uses Sunn Model T amps with Marshall 412 cabinet and an Ampeg SVT II bass amp. Wata and Takeshi tune their instruments in a variety of tunings, most of which are lower than standard E tuning (most commonly B flat tuning), often resulting in the range normally associated with Baritone guitar s.
Since 2006, Boris has had a working relationship with the guitarist Michio Kurihara , previously a member of White Heaven and The Stars, and a current member of Ghost (1984 band)|Ghost . Together, they have released two full length collaborations, Rainbow (Boris with Michio Kurihara album)|Rainbow and Cloud Chamber (Boris collaborative album)|Cloud Chamber , and Kurihara has guested on several Boris recordings. He has also toured consistently with the band as a second guitarist since 2007. With Boris, Kurihara uses vintage Greco clone of a Gibson SG guitar with Bigsby Vibrato bar, a pair of Fender Super Reverb amplifiers, and an array of exotic effects pedals, including several made by the Zvex company.
In the studio, Boris records on Reel-to-reel audio tape recording|analog equipment . They record as much as possible live, with minimal overdubs and as few takes as possible. http://www.radcompany.net/Storys/NewsStorys/BORIS/BORIS.html "Atsuo - BORIS/boris." Rad Company. Date unknown. Retrieved on March 23, 2007.
Members
The members of the band each go by one name only. Fans often assumevague|date = March 2011 that Atsuo is the leader of the group, which is because Atsuo speaks near-fluent English and is therefore primarily represented in English language interviews and press releases.
Boris DEFAULTSORT:Boris Category:Japanese heavy metal musical groups Category:Japanese doom metal musical groups Category:Sludge metal musical groups Category:Stoner rock musical groups Category:Southern Lord Records artists Category:Musical trios
