Les Rallizes Dénudés


Les Rallizes Dénudés were a Japanese psychedelic noise rock band formed in 1967 in Kyoto, Japan. They gained a reputation many years after their breakup as one of Japan's most legendary experimental bands, and were a forcible influence on the noise rock scene within Japan and abroad. Much of their popularity comes from their enigmatic, mysterious presence on and off stage, a scarcity of official releases and information on the band, an abnormally high number of live bootlegs from throughout their career, and a strong cult following.

History

Les Rallizes Dénudés were formed in 1967 by a group of students in Doshisha University's Light Music Club in Kyoto, Japan, continuing until 1996 to exist around the core and only persistent member, Takashi Mizutani. They briefly worked with local avant-garde theater troupes, with loose ties to Shūji Terayama and his Tenjō Sajiki troupe. The band originally planned to record in a studio, but after being dissatisfied with the results, they decided to exclusively perform live shows.
Initially active between 1967 and 1988, and then again briefly between 1993 and 1996 before permanently disbanding; their style of instrumentation and overall musical sound developed greatly throughout time. Bands like Blue Cheer, Captain Beefheart, the Velvet Underground, and chanson singers like Antoine greatly shaped the earlier late-60's early-70's sound of the band, resulting in music similar to that found on albums like White Light/White Heat or The Stooges. Recordings from the mid to late 70's and 80's show the band taking on an increasingly loud, distorted, repetitive, and "raw" sound, shown most clearly on bootleg albums like Electric Pure Land, Blind Baby Has Its Mothers Eyes, and their most acclaimed album, '77 Live. This raw sound presaged the later music of the New York City noise rock scene. Both periods included lyrics in Japanese inspired by French poètes maudits like Rimbaud, Lautréamont, and Cocteau.
Their discography is mostly made up of bootlegs, soundboard archives, and a sparse selection of aborted studio recording attempts. Unofficial archive releases on independent labels such as Univive, Phoenix, and Bamboo exist, as well as solo releases from former members and affiliates of the band. Part-time manager and music critic Akira Aida had prepared to release an official record on Virgin in 1976, but plans fell through. Three records from Rivista released in 1991, a self-titled 7" single released as a bonus with issue number 2 of the Japanese magazine Etcetera in 1996, and a self-titled VHS compilation of recorded live performances produced by the possibly fictitious "Ethan Mousiké" are the only official releases put out during the band's existence.

Rediscovery & reissues

The first verifiable bootlegs of Les Rallizes Dénudés performances began to circulate in the late 1980s, notably the December's Black Children CDs, which circulated around Japan in around 1989. By the late 1990s, some indie record labels like Cragale began to distribute CDs and cassette tapes of Les Rallizes Dénudés performances from throughout the band's history. Les Rallizes Dénudés listening parties were held in the United States as early as 1999, and one of the earliest references to the band in print can be found in a Wire article from the same year. It is, of course, difficult to pinpoint anything exact when it comes to the tape trading community, but the rate of bootlegs picked up steam after the 1999 bootlegging and distribution of Color Box.
Japrocksampler was published in 2007 by Julian Cope, where Les Rallizes Dénudés is discussed at length. The book's contents and sources cannot be verified, but even if the information contained is unverifiable, it greatly increased Western awareness about the band.
A 2012 deep dive by the Red Bull Music Academy titled "In Search of Les Rallizes Dénudés" centered on the band, written by Grayson Haver Currin. It made use of Japrocksampler and interviews with Mizutani's contemporaries and former band mates, and although some assertions made in the article are unproven the article was an example of Les Rallizes Dénudés breaking further into the Western mainstream.
On January 29, 2013, Toshiro Mimaki, a former drummer and guitarist who released his own music in the 2010s, died.
In a 2020 interview, former member Makoto Kubota stated that he had formerly conversed with Mizutani through phone calls in which he told him that his band had become popular in America and that it could even possible for the band to play a revival concert there. In October 2021, an official website was launched for the band by the record label The Last One Musique, claiming to be a collaborative effort by former band members and associates of Mizutani. It announced its intention to release official Rallizes recordings with "more alive and striking sound than the bootlegs that have been circulating over twenty years". The website states on its homepage that Mizutani died in 2019, and this is further supported by statements from Aquilha Mochiduki, a photographer associated with Les Rallizes Dénudés since 1970.
In 2022, the album The OZ Tapes was released on the Temporal Drift record label, the first official release from the band in 31 years. The album was remastered from the original tapes, discovered after Mizutani's passing, under the supervision of former band member Makoto Kubota. Kubota stated in an interview with The Quietus that he plans to remaster all of the albums released under the Rivista label.
On March 24, 2023, Hiroshi Narasaki, the bass player heard on some of Les Rallizes' most acclaimed recordings, such as Cable Hogue Soundtrack and '77 Live, died. In the same month, Enter the Mirror: A Celebration of Les Rallizes Dénudés, a tribute event, was announced, organized by Temporal Drift, Empty Bottle, and endorsed by The Last One Musique. It took place at the Bohemian National Cemetery in Chicago on the 17th June 2023 and consisted of Les Rallizes Dénudés inspired performances by Cindy Lee, Steve Gunn, Who Is The Witness?, Oui Ennui, Cafe Racer and MANDY, as well as a Les Rallizes Dénudés covers set by John Dwyer with Tom Dolas, Drew St. Ivany and Bill Roe.
On June 28, the 2-CD set CITTA' '93, a live performance from CLUB CITTA' on February 17, 1993, was released, with a 3-LP version coming later. On November 8, BAUS '93, a live performance from the on February 13, 1993, was released.

Takashi Mizutani

Very little is known about the band's founder and lead singer Takashi Mizutani, aside from his former affiliation with members of the Japanese Red Army and involvement early on in theater at Doshisha University. Mizutani had a strong affection for French art, and maintained this affection throughout his life, with many of his lyrics and song structures revolving around poetry and literature. He may have lived in Paris from 1988 to 1993 while the band was inactive.
After the hijacking of Flight 351, Mizutani became reclusive for many years, only occasionally emerging to play shows and give few interviews, yet music newspapers at the time did occasionally report on locations and festivals that the Rallizes would be attending. Mizutani played two concerts without the band in the late 90s, one with the band Niplets and one with the band Shizuka. The last Les Rallizes Dénudés appearance was a concert at Club Citta in Tokyo, on October 4, 1996. The last public appearances of Mizutani were two live performances in 1997 at MANDA-LA2 with jazz saxophonist Arthur Doyle and drummer Sabu Toyozumi. Mizutani was reported by friends and former colleagues to have died in 2019.
Mizutani was known to be a multi-instrumentalist. He typically played lead guitar, but occasionally played the electric bass, electric organ, and small wind instruments like the kazoo and harmonica. His soloing technique revolved heavily around the use of barre chords and fingerstyle picking. Mizutani most frequently used the Gibson SG and the Fender Telecaster, but has been seen using other guitars in various concert images and footage. Mizutani supposedly used around "8 to 10" effects pedals, including tape echos, fuzz pedals, Big Muffs, and wah-wah pedals.

Interviews

Takashi Mizutani and Takeshi Nakamura both featured in an interview in Young Guitar Magazine in November 1973.
Mizutani's most notable interview was conducted in September 1991 by Japanese correspondent Manabu Yuasa over a fax machine. The interview lasted ten and a half hours, with Mizutani reputedly faxing Yuasa from Paris to Tokyo. During the interview, Mizutani talks about his thoughts on current music, recording technology, and experiences where he apparently planned to record music with former Jimi Hendrix Experience bassist Noel Redding in Cork and members of "the London punks". His comments were interspersed with original poetry. The interview was published in the November edition of Music Magazine, in 1991.

Etymology

The meaning of the name Les Rallizes Dénudés has been debated, and there are various conflicting reports regarding the name's origin. According to former member Moriaki Wakabayashi, the word Rallizes comes from the Japanese word Rariru, which means being high, and the word Dénudés representing their raw selves. The band members came up with the name after attending a performance at Kyoto Kaikan, where Mizutani, Wakabayashi, and Nakemura walked around Kyoto high on Hyminal sleeping pills. Some reports also state that the word "Rallizes" was a piece of fake French slang invented by Kyoto-based theater group Gendai Gekijo meaning "empty suitcases", and others say it is a reference to Naked Lunch.

Political affiliation

Although the band itself was not overtly political, original and early members were known to participate in various political organizations and movements amidst the volatile daigaku funsō and Anpo protests of the time, with the band as a whole reportedly performing in the occupied Kyoto University auditorium while it was held by students during a protest in 1969, this event being known as the "Barricades A Go-Go concert". The band also performed at political concerts around Japan, including a Kyoto University concert on Gozan no Okuribi protesting the construction of the Sanrizuka airport. Takashi Mizutani is cited in Susumu Kurosawa's book "Psychedelia in Japan" as saying "Sometimes we hold a guitar, sometimes we hold protests, variety is good, but protest songs are a bore." Wakabayashi and Julian Cope both claim Mizutani attended political rallies with a black helmet, implying he was an anarchist.
In 1970, after having performed with the band since 1967, original bassist Moriaki Wakabayashi assisted in the hijacking of Japan Airlines Flight 351 orchestrated by the Communist League's "Red Army Faction." He was known to be engaged in political activity by the rest of the band, but Wakabayashi himself claimed the band never really talked about politics amongst themselves. He left the band abruptly after performing a concert, later saying: "My trajectory was revolution, theirs was self-expression in the form of music. We each went along our own paths. Therefore I didn’t feel the need to say goodbye, or anything."

Members

  • Takashi Mizutani - vocals, guitar
  • Takeshi Nakamura - guitar, bass
  • Moriaki Wakabayashi - bass
  • Takashi Katoh - drums, percussion
  • Takashi Tada - bass, guitar
  • Masaronni Konno - woodwinds
  • Tsutomi Matsumoto - drums
  • Makoto Kubota - guitar, bass, percussion
  • Tadanaka Makino - percussion
  • Mikio Nagata - bass
  • Shunichiro Shoda - drums
  • Shime Takahashi - drums
  • Hiroshi Nar - bass
  • Toshiro Mimaki - drums, bass, guitar
  • Kodo Noma - Drums
  • Takada Kyohiro - bass
  • Fujio Yamaguchi - guitar
  • Akira Fujii - saxophone, guitar
  • Masaru Oiwa - bass
  • Yokai Takahashi - bass
  • Kouji Kido - drums
  • Yoshio Kuge - drums
  • Katsuhiko Ishii - guitar
  • Maki Miura - guitar, bass

Timeline


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bar:Makino text:"Tadanaka Makino"
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bar:Ishii from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/1995 color:Guitar
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In the summer of 1970, the band was briefly composed by Mizutani and future Mirahachibu members Fujio Yamaguchi, Chahbo, Shinichi Aoki, Ao Someya and Yoshimi Tsuneda for a one-off performance. The future Murahachibu members would then briefly call themselves "Les Rallizes Dénudés" without Mizutani's permission.

Discography

Official releases

Releases that have been authorized or released officially by the band.
YearTitleLabelFormat
1991'67–'69 STUDIO et LIVERivista/Temporal DriftCD, LP, Cassette
1991MIZUTANI / Les Rallizes DénudésRivista/Temporal DriftCD, LP, Cassette
1991'77 LiveRivista/Temporal DriftCD, LP, Cassette
1992Les Rallizes DénudésEthan Mousiké Co., Ltd.VHS
1996Les Rallizes DénudésEtcetera7"
2021White AwakeningTemporal DriftDigital download
2022Vertigo Otherwise My ConvictionTemporal DriftDigital download
2022The OZ TapesTemporal DriftDigital download, LP, book
2023Romance of the Black Pain Otherwise Fallin' Love WithTemporal Drift12"
2023CITTA' '93Temporal DriftDigital download, LP
2023BAUS ‘93 Temporal DriftDigital download, LP, CD + DVD
2024The Last One〈Poésies : Les Rallizes Dénudés〉Temporal DriftBook + CD
2024屋根裏 YaneUra Oct. '80 Temporal DriftDigital download, LP, CD
2024屋根裏 YaneUra Sept. ’80Temporal DriftDigital download, LP, CD
2025Jittoku '76Temporal DriftDigital download, LP, CD

Bootleg releases

Significant or well-known bootlegs include:December's Black Children Color Box Heavier Than a Death in the Family Blind Baby Has Its Mother's Eyes Mars Studio 1980 Great White Wonder Cable Hogue Soundtrack Double Heads: Legendary Live France Demo Tape Flightless Bird Needs Water Wings Volcanic Performance
  • ''Tripical Midbooster Winter 1981-82''