chu ishikawa • der eisenrost | it

The lead of Der Eisenrost, from Tokyo, Japan, Chu Ishikawa (石川忠) is the soundtrack mastermind to Shinya Tsukamoto's films. Neither the music or the films are widely known, but Shinya Tsukamoto is regarded as one of the pro-genitive influences of the cyberpunk genre. Chu Ishikawa's tools and stage setup resemble the guts of a bombed-out factory. His music is industrial in the truest, most literal and ear-splitting sense of the word-- use of electronic instruments or processing is limited, and in live performance the sparks fly as band members take circular saws to sheet metal and wildly bang on things...

Line-up: Chu Ishikawa - metal percussion/program, Joe Yabuki - metal percussion/bass, Kouhei Chiba - metal percussion/drums, Shinichi Kawahara - metal percussion, Shinichi Seki - metal percussion/guitar/vocal. Chu Ishikawa picked up his first synthesizer at the age of 15, and entered the music scene with his first band at the age of 18. The alternative metal percussion unit, Zeitlich Vergelter, received a warm welcome from the indie scene, alongside bands such as the Ruins and the Boredoms. After their break up, Chu continued as a solo percussion artist, and wrote his first soundtrack in 1988 for the cult classic "Tetsuo", directed...