Buffalo Rising Online

Sep 14th 2005, 5:25pm By queenseyes

"In 1996, Makoto Kawabata banded together with a bunch of communal friends, musicians, farmers, dancers and fisherman from the Acid Mothers 'soul collective' to create what he thought would be a non-continuing outlet for his musical freak-outs. Dubbing the group Acid Mothers Temple and the Melting Paraiso U.F.O. (Underground Freak Out), Kawabata decided to unveil his astrophysical clatter with a 1997 self-titled release on PSF. Although the first release was basically a Kawabata solo record replete with overdubbed group jams, it garnered plenty of international press and paved the way for a full-blown group tour in 1998 and more albums for PSF. Since then, what began as a one-off trip has turned into a full-scale lysergic ride into the noise cosmos.

"From the beginning, there were always these goofball, cartoonish elements to the Acid Mothers. Members would receive credit in the liner notes for things like 'guru and zero,' 'erotic underground,' 'sleeping monk,' 'cheese cake' and 'cosmic ringmodulater' alongside 'electric guitars' and 'drums.' Also, take note of the album covers: a communal mass of fuzz and hair, hippie costumes and monks with skulls. Not to mention the naked women, which appear to be everywhere in the AMT universe. Listening to the band's music and reading interviews with Kawabata, it is apparent that the oddball eccentricities of the band are just a part of the whole. What's at the core of everything is the music, which can easily shift from acid-fueled guitar orgies to acoustic meditative drones. "--Luke Buckman, Pitchfork

"From the beginning, there were always these goofball, cartoonish elements to the Acid Mothers. Members would receive credit in the liner notes for things like 'guru and zero,' 'erotic underground,' 'sleeping monk,' 'cheese cake' and 'cosmic ringmodulater' alongside 'electric guitars' and 'drums.' Also, take note of the album covers: a communal mass of fuzz and hair, hippie costumes and monks with skulls. Not to mention the naked women, which appear to be everywhere in the AMT universe. Listening to the band's music and reading interviews with Kawabata, it is apparent that the oddball eccentricities of the band are just a part of the whole. What's at the core of everything is the music, which can easily shift from acid-fueled guitar orgies to acoustic meditative drones. "--Luke Buckman, Pitchfork

Acid Mothers Temple, Aqui is Sunday, September 18, 8pm, $8 advance, $10 doors. Advance tickets available at Home of the Hits & New World Record, or can be arranged for pickup at the door (and paid for via paypal) by emailing: bastazine@hotmail.com. Soundlab is located in the basement vaults of the Dun Building, a blonde brick 10-story building located on the corner of Pearl and Swan, downtown Buffalo (entrance at rear).

Update: Soundlab is extremely unhappy to report that the Acid Mothers Temple show scheduled for Sunday, September 18 has been cancelled, at least for the time being. Ace Fu Records had this to say: "Due to problems that no one but the federal government can do anything about, it's likely that Acid Mothers Temple & the Cosmic Inferno will be canceling the first several dates of their U.S. tour. The U.S. Department of Immigration is forcing an unexpected, significant delay in the processing of work visas for several members of the band. Tour dates through September 27 will most likely be rescheduled." The group's booking agent added: "People in our office have been working on this basically nonstop for the past few weeks and unfortunately we have run out of time. Again we sincerely apologize for this." Refunds for pre-sale tickets are available at the point of purchase, and any help spreading the word would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the inconvenience. We think this blows as bad as you do. -Soundlab