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The Mad Capsule Markets | |
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 The band at Download Festival 2005 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Yokohama, Japan |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1985–2006 |
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| Past members | |
The Mad Capsule Markets (originally known as The Mad Capsule Market's and Berrie) were a Japanese band that formed in 1985 and were active until 2006. The band became known for their experimental style, which melded various kinds of electronic music and punk rock.
In 1985, while in high school, vocalist and songwriter Hiroshi Kyono and guitarist Minoru Kojima formed the punk band Berrie. One year later, the duo were joined by bassist Takeshi Ueda and drummer "Seto", at which point the quartet began performing at concerts and entering Battle of the Bands competitions. The band recorded a three-song demo tape entitled Poison Revolution, which they distributed themselves. (Two of these three songs were later re-released on the Speak!!! album.) Their popularity in the Japanese underground music scene steadily grew and in 1990 this success earned them a place as the opening act for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. However, within months of the performance, drummer "Seto" left the band, and was replaced by Tokyo resident Motokatsu Miyagami. In April 1990, Berrie changed its name to The Mad Capsule Market's, purportedly a term for distributors of Betaphenethylamine, a fictional drug from the cyberpunk novel Neuromancer . [1]
In August 1990, the new band released their first single, "Government Wall", a re-recording of the Berrie song. In October, they released their debut album, Humanity , which also featured a number of Berrie songs and retained their punk sound. After the album's release, original guitarist Minoru Kojima left the band, and was replaced by former roadie Ai Ishigaki. The following year, The Mad Capsule Markets signed to major record label Victor Entertainment and recorded their second album, P.O.P . A faster and harder album than their first, it was heavily censored, provoking outrage from the band members. Their earlier lyrical content, with the lyrics, written mostly by bassist Takeshi Ueda, had Marxist/working-class influences, with lyrical themes becoming more and more political with later releases. From 1990 their sound was mainly punk influenced but quickly began to incorporate different influences in their music by the likes of Killing Joke, Aburadako, The Stalin and Yellow Magic Orchestra.
From 1992 onwards the band began to experiment with their sound, introducing various sampling machines and New Wave sounds. In 1992 they recorded the EP Capsule Soup and their third album Speak!!!! . In 1993, their fourth album Mix-ism leaned more towards ska, and in 1994 their fifth album Park demonstrated a slower and more melodic style. This was also the first album to be released overseas (in the United States, although almost two years after its Japanese release).
Recorded and produced in the US, their 1996 album 4 Plugs saw a musical shift towards metal. Although the band retained its style of rock with electronic influences, the music was darker and heavier. Vocalist Kyono also altered his singing style and began rapping in English occasionally. This marked the beginning of the major stylistic change that would be demonstrated on subsequent recordings. Takashi Fujita joined the band as an additional live guitarist for the subsequent tour.
Later that year, the band released The Mad Capsule Market's, a greatest hits compilation containing re-recorded songs from their career up to that point. Following its release, guitarist Ai Ishigaki left the band. Instead of recruiting an official replacement guitarist, the band opted to continue as a trio, with guitar being performed by support guitarist "TORUxxx".
Perhaps boosted by the change in guitarist, The Mad Capsule Markets' sound became heavier still. In 1997 they released their second international album and eighth overall, Digidogheadlock . A strong progression from 4 Plugs, electronica came to the forefront and the music had a great deal in common with industrial metal.
Also in 1997, the band performed at the American music festival South by Southwest as part of the Japan Nite event.
In 1999 the band released their most internationally recognized album to date. Osc-Dis (Oscillator in Distortion) was a more poppy or melodic take on the sound of Digidogheadlock. It was released worldwide in 2001, driven by the hugely popular single "Pulse", which featured on the video game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 . The song and the album became the group's most well known outside Japan. At this time the band also introduced their robotic "mascots" the White Crusher and Black Cyborn.
The Mad Capsule Markets' tenth album, 010, was released in 2001 and demonstrated all the styles that they had explored previously, with a stronger emphasis on electronica. This produced a record which sounded more diverse than those before it. In 2002 the band also released a live album entitled 020120 , after the date of the performance.
In 2004 the band produced their most recent studio album, Cistm Konfliqt... (pronounced "System Conflict"). The album was a return to the heaviness of Digidogheadlock, but this heaviness was filtered through the electronic experimentation of the previous two albums, maintaining a strong link with digital hardcore. The UK release of Cistm Konfliqt... in 2005 saw the band's popularity there grow, with rock magazine Kerrang! inviting them to play numerous concerts. Japanese mixed martial arts fighter Takanori Gomi uses the track "Scary" for his entrance theme.
In 2005, The Mad Capsule Markets broke from longtime record label Victor/Invitation and signed to Sony Music Japan. They released two greatest hits compilations of songs spanning their entire career, these were entitled 1990–1996 and 1997–2004.
On April 5 the band announced that they were taking an 'extended break' from making music under the Mad Capsule Markets' name and instead work on separate projects. They posted this on the official Japanese site:
"Thank you so much for big support for us. This time, after our discuss with 3 guys from the band, we decide to take an extended break as the band. We can't decide when we can re-start again as the band, at this point. Each from the band plans to work as individual artist/projects, please keep supporting us from now on. thank you."
Switchblade is the debut album by Schaft, released in 1994. A promotional video for the song "Arbor Vitate" was filmed, and was later re-used by PIG for their version of the song.
Balzac is a Japanese punk rock band formed in 1992 in Kyoto. The band was founded by singer and songwriter Hirosuke Nishiyama, who has remained the only constant member of the band since its creation. Since the beginning, Balzac was highly influenced by the sound and image of the American horror punk band Misfits and, especially during the very early years, Glenn Danzig's Samhain, adopting and combining the musical and visual style of both bands to create their own. Balzac's lyrics, though not always serious in tone, often deal with themes of darkness, loneliness and fear.
Mix-ism is the fourth album from The Mad Capsule Markets. Mix-ism earned The Mad Capsule Markets their first high rated album on the charts and featured the band experimenting and branching out, showing a more melodious sound overall. The album has a very dark feel to it compared to other releases, mainly coming from the lyrical themes featured. The album was also recorded in England.
Takeshi Ueda is the bassist, programmer, additional vocalist and songwriter for The Mad Capsule Markets. He is often known for his unique way of bass guitar playing, and ever changing haircuts.
Hiroshi Kyono is the former vocalist for The Mad Capsule Markets.
Digidogheadlock is the seventh album by Japanese band The Mad Capsule Markets and their first to receive a European release. The album explored the sound that would later be used on their following album, Osc-Dis. TORUxxx stepped in on guitar for this album, although Takeshi Ueda recorded guitar on the track "Asphalt Beach". This album gained the band recognition by Digital Hardcore Recordings founder and Atari Teenage Riot frontman Alec Empire, who remixed two tracks and invited the band to tour with ATR. The album was released two years before the breakthrough album Osc-Dis, but there was little international interest at the time. The song "3:31" is a reference to vocalist Kyono's birthdate.
Motokatsu Miyagami is a Japanese musician, best known as drummer of the band The Mad Capsule Markets from 1990 until their disbandment in 2006. He is currently the drummer for Ace of Spades and Gastunk.
Osc-Dis or Oscillator in Distortion is the eighth album by Japanese band The Mad Capsule Markets. It was released in Japan in 1999 and released outside Japan in 2001. Osc-Dis was the band's breakthrough album and finally got them recognized overseas, with the single "Pulse". The album mixes industrial metal, industrial rock and punk rock with various kinds of electronic music. It was more melodic than their previous album and included elements of pop punk. There are vocal contributions from Hirosuke from Balzac, Yamada from Geronimo, and Katsya from NND. This album also saw the birth of the band's mascots The White Crusher and The Cyborn.
010 is the ninth studio album by Japanese band The Mad Capsule Markets. It was released in Japan in 2001 and in the United Kingdom in 2003. The album was much more experimental than the band's previous two albums. It includes a cover of the song "Wardance" by Killing Joke.
The Mad Capsule Markets 1997–2004 is third compilation album by The Mad Capsule Markets. This album features a collection of hits from Digidogheadlock to Cistm Konfliqt.... Songs were re-mastered by Takeshi Ueda for the release. Changes include extended intros to Asphalt-Beach and Bit Crusherrrr and an added scream to Scary as the song gets faster. In the UK edition the DVD was included with the disc instead of the two being sold separately as they are in Japan. The DVD features the re-mastered tracks dubbed over the original videos.
Ai Ishigaki was the guitarist for The Mad Capsule Markets from 1990 to 1996. He got the job as support guitarist after being a roadie for MCM in the Berrie days. Ishigaki debuted on their Thrash-Punk album P.O.P and later became the more well known guitarist because he could bring a softer, more experimental acoustic element to their later releases. Ishigaki left the band in 1996, it was stated that the harder direction on 4 Plugs may have been why. After leaving, Ishigaki worked on solo material, formed Blade with actor Shinji Takeda, and contributed guitar to other bands, including Tomoyasu Hotei who was an ex-member of Japanese rock group Boøwy.
Minoru Kojima is a Japanese guitarist, who was the original guitarist for the experimental punk band The Mad Capsule Markets. He is also known as Scene or Shin Murohime, which is apparently a conglomeration of characters from the names of different Boøwy members. He started The Mad Capsule Markets in 1985, with vocalist Hiroshi Kyono, in an attempt to create "loud, punk music" after becoming "bored" with music played on television and radio. After the release of Mad's Humanity, Minoru left the band and was replaced by "support guitarist" Ai Ishigaki. In 1991 Minoru started Die in Cries and in 1994 became a member of The Bloody Imitation Society. Over the years Minoru worked with more bands and even went solo for a short time before returning to Mad to play on "Good Day" from their album 010 and playing on their "Cistm Konfliqt" tour.
Obojeni Program is a Serbian alternative rock band from Novi Sad. The band are pioneers of the Serbian alternative rock scene. The first letters of the band's first seven studio albums form an acronym of their home town. They have performed at every Exit festival since the first in 2000, with the exception of the virtual Exit held in September 2020.
Wisdom in Chains is an American hardcore punk band based out of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The band's name is taken from the lyrics of a song by the New York hardcore band Killing Time. "Wisdom", from Killing Time's 1989 debut album, Brightside, opens with, "Wisdom in chains, unlocked too late".
The Party AUDIO STACK is the 20th album by Japanese jazz fusion band Casiopea. In addition, the video was released simultaneously as The Party VISUAL STACK on June 25, 1990 with LaserDisc and VHS. Also, when we sent the application tickets attached to "AUDIO STACK" and "VISUAL STACK", we got The Party EXTRA STACK by lottery.
This album marked the joining of Yoshihiro Naruse (bass) and Masaaki Hiyama (drums) to the band. This is also Casiopea's 20th overall album.
Jealousy is an EP by Japanese heavy metal band Loudness. It was released in May 1988 only in Japan, a market that the band felt to have neglected in favour of American audiences. It would also mark the final recording with the classic line-up, until Spiritual Canoe in 2001. Singer Minoru Niihara left the band after the end of the domestic tour promoting this release. The song "Long Distance Love" would later be reworked for the On the Prowl album, with vocals by American singer Mike Vescera.
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Gastunk is an influential Japanese rock band, first active from 1983 to 1988. Initially a hardcore punk band, guitarist Tatsu later recalled that when Gastunk made their major label debut they were dubbed heavy metal by the media. They reunited for one-off concerts in 1999 and 2006, before fully restarting activities in 2010.
Who Killed Idol? is the third studio album by Japanese idol group BiS, released on March 5, 2014. It is the last studio album released by the group before they disbanded in July 2014, and the only studio album to feature members First Summer Uika, Tentenko, Saki Kamiya and Megumi Koshouji. The album was released following a period of multiple changes in the BiS lineup, resulting in some tracks featuring members that were no longer part of the group by the time the album was released. The album continues the basic style of their previous albums, but shows more variety in the various styles of rock and pop featured in the tracks: "STUPiG" showcases a digital hardcore sound, "Hi" takes a step into upbeat punk rock, and "MURA-MURA" ventures into SKA-core. The pattern of including a cover track is continued, with "Primal" by The Yellow Monkey being included as the final track. The original version of this track also happened to be the last song The Yellow Monkey released before they disbanded, adding to its significance in the album.
Atom Miraiha No.9 is the twentieth studio album by Japanese rock band Buck-Tick released on September 28, 2016. It is the first album released after Lingua Sounda was made a sub-label of Victor, making it their first album since 1996's Cosmos to be released through Victor. Takeshi Ueda of AA= and The Mad Capsule Markets performs as a guest on the track "Pinoa Icchio -Odoru Atom-". The album was 5th on the Oricon weekly chart and 6th on Billboard Japan's album chart.
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