The Mad Capsule Markets
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Mad Capsule Markets | |
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| Country | Yokohama,Japan |
| Years active | 1985 – 1990 (as Berrie) 1990 – 2006 2006 – present (on hiatus) |
| Genres | Punk rock Electronica Japanese rock |
| Labels | Insect Noise (1990 – 1990) Victor/Invitation (1990 – 2004) Sony Music Entertainment 2005 – Present |
| Members | Hiroshi Kyono Takeshi Ueda TORUxxx Motokatsu Miygami |
| Past members | Scene aka Murohime Ai Ishigaki |
The Mad Capsule Markets are a Japanese rock band that formed in 1985, originally going under the name of Berrie.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early Years
While in high school, Kyono and former guitarist Shin (Kojima Minoru) set up the band Berrie (a tribute to their idols BOØWY, a very popular Japanese punk group in the 1980s). One year later the two were joined by bassist Takeshi Ueda and Drummer Seto. Shortly after the quartet started entering Battle Of The Bands competitions and released the demo EP POISON REVOLUTION.
In 1990, after opening for bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers and a replacing drummer Seto with Motokatsu, they changed their name to The Mad Capsule Markets. During this year they released their debut album, Humanity, which after its completion saw the departure of band member Shin, who was replaced with Berrie roadie, Ishigaki Ai.
The release of their second album, P-O-P, in 1991 saw the band take some style changes, sporting a more punk look including leather jackets, mohicans and studs. The following two albums, Capsule Soup and Speak!!!, saw the continued evolution of their style and sound. Capsule Soup including a cover of Bach's Fugue for organ in G minor, and saw the introduction of various sampling machines into their repertoire. whilst MIX-ISM was more of a ska-influenced album.
1994 saw the release of P-A-R-K which saw a change from their punk inspired sound to a more slower melodic style. P-A-R-K was released in the United States in 1996, their first album to be released outside of Japan.
[edit] 1996 and onwards
Their 4-Plugs once again saw Mad changing their style. This time, they opted for shaven heads, hooded tops and skateboarder-inspired clothing and their sound became more of a metal / rap infusion with the introduction of more English into their lyrics.
Following the release of the self titled album, Mad Capsule Markets, Ishigaki left the band and was replaced by TORUxxx. The new band member took on the guitar playing for their second worldwide released album, Digidogheadlock which toyed with adding an electronic/techno sound into the already eclectic mix. This album in particular caught the attention of Atari Teenage Riot's, Alec Empire. After hearing this album, Alec invited Mad to open for Atari Teenage Riot on their then current tour.
Probably their most internationally recognized album to date, OSC-DIS (was released in 1999, and worldwide in 2001. It was at this time that Mad also created their band's logo characters The White Crusher and The Cyborn, who were seen in the Pulse video and then onwards.
Since then Mad have had the song Pulse feature in the game Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 which helped them further break into the international market.
Their tenth album 010, released in 2001, saw the return of former guitarist Kojima Minoru (who had never officially left the band) playing on one of the tracks, and the embracing of the previously experimented electronic/techno style.
Since 2002 they have released their live album 020120', CiSTm K0nFLiqT in 2003 and two best of albums 1990-1996 and 1997-2004 in 2004.
Their popularity in the UK has also grown greatly and seen them being invited by rock magazine, Kerrang!, to play numerous live gigs around the UK.
In 2005, Mad broke from longtime record Victor/Invitation and signed to Sony Music Entertainment and went to play gigs in support of Best Of albums. One gig in particular they played the main stage at the Download Festival. Unfortunately, the band experienced technical problems due to sound technicians not setting up the equipment correctly. The Dwarves, the act previous to The Mad Capsule Markets, played beyond their allotted time and therefore the latter act was cut 10 minutes short.
[edit] Current Projects
On March 31, 2006 Mad announced they are taking some time off from MCM, and working on solo projects [1] as Kyono has become a DJ and is doing shows in Japan and is working on a clothing line [2], Motokatsu is in Rally (band) and Takeshi is (possibly) working on solo material and also a has clothing line [3].
[edit] Members
[edit] Current line-up
(as of 2004's Cistm K0nfliqt)
- Kyono- vocals
- Motokatsu Miyagami (Motokatsu) - drums
- Takeshi Ueda (Takeshi)- bass
- TORUxxx (Member of Undown) - additional guitar
[edit] Former members
- Takashi Fujita (Support briefly after Ishigaki left, before TORUxxx, former frontman of Doom (metal band)) - guitar
- Ai Ishigaki (ISHIG∀KI)support guitarist 1990-1996, replaced by TORUxxx - guitar
- Minoru Kojima (Shin) aka Scene aka Murohime (Humanity guitarist, played with Mad in 2001, and 2004) - guitar
- KAZ (appeared on Countdown Japan 04/05 performance) - guitar
- Seto (Berrie drummer, left before first Mad release) - drums
[edit] Discography:
Main Article: The Mad Capsule Markets discography
[edit] Other Projects
In recent years, the band have been involved in various other projects as well as with the band. These include Takeshi recording a song for the Ridge Racer V soundtrack, Motokatsu's involvement in a supergroup named Rally, Kyono performing guest vocals on several tracks by Joujouka and has performed with them live, Takeshi producing half of the mini-album by DELI entitled Time 4 Some Action, Kyono recording a track with The Crystal Method for the Japanese release of their album Legion of Boom and the Japanese release of the Resident Evil: Apocalypse soundtrack (interestingly enough, a collaboration with ex-Limp Bizkit's Wes Borland, although the two never met), and Motokatsu recording guest drums on the single Change Your Life by Anna Tsuchiya.
[edit] Trivia
- The song Midi Surf has given birth to the term Midi Surfing.
- Mixed martial arts fighter Takanori Gomi uses their song Scary as his entrance music.
[edit] External links
- The Crazy Pill Bazaars website. includes translations, news, pictures etc
- The Mad Capsule Markets Official Site, (on hiatus).
- The Mad Capsule Markets Official UK Site.
| The Mad Capsule Markets | |
| Kyono | Takeshi Ueda | Motokatsu Miygami Ai Ishigaki | Minoru Kojima | TORUxxx | Seto | |
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| Discography | |
| Albums and extended plays: HUMANITY | P.O.P | Capsule Soup | SPEAK!!! | Gichi-Early Singles Collection | MIX-ISM | P-A-R-K | 4 Plugs | The Mad Capsule Markets (album) | Digidogheadlock | OSC DIS | 010 | 020120 | |CiSTm K0nFLiqT | 1990-1996 | 1997-2004 |
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| Related Articles: Berrie | Undown | Amen Break | Rally (band) | Schaft |
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