Les Rallizes Dénudés

Maintaining a cult status for the better part of four distinct decades is a pretty phenomenal feat. It’s not that it hasn’t been done countless times in the States and abroad. But a Japanese band called Les Rallizes Denudes ratchets up the weirdness to hitherto untold heights.

Founded in ’67 and making its live debut early the following year, Les Rallizes Denudes, centered around Mizutani Takashi, sought to incorporate as many different modes of expression into performances as possible. There were films, lights, disco balls and the like all functioning alongside the rock-steady drum beat and repetitive bass lines that comprise such a dense block of the group’s catalog. Read more