The drummer and vocalist for the Japanese psychedelic band (rough translation: “geometric patterns”) is a modest person with an attitude towards music making that runs counter to the Japanese obsession with technique and “correct” playing. No matter—he’s getting the job done and then some. Aside from Kikagaku Moyo’s virtuosic sitar player, Ryu Kurosawa (drummer Go Kurosawa’s younger brother), the musicians in the band are all fairly new to their instruments and had almost no experience playing in bands before this project. Pushing against what Go describes as overly restrictive ideas in Japan about proper playing technique, Kikagaku Moyo have leaned into concepts like minimalism and tend to philosophically align themselves with the DIY attitude of the first wave of punk rock. Speaking to Go just after he and the band came off a wildly successful world tour in support of their self-released album Masana Temples, we found the drummer disarmingly […]

July 2020 Issue