Who We Are: Japan's Psychedelic Soul Collective
If you've ever lost track of time inside one of our long, swirling jams, you already know the feeling. If you haven't, here's a short guide to who we are, for new listeners and old ones.
Who is in Acid Mothers Temple?
Our full name is Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O., and most people just say AMT. Guitarist Kawabata Makoto founded the band in Japan in 1995 and still leads it. The first line-up had Cotton Casino on synthesizer and voice, Suhara Keizo on bass and Koizumi Hajime on drums. Today Kawabata plays with Higashi Hiroshi on synthesizer, Jyonson Tsu on voice, guitar and bouzouki, Satoshima Nani on drums and Sawano Shozo on bass.
What do we sound like?
Kawabata wanted to make "extreme trip music". The result is psychedelic rock and space rock: long, loud, swirling pieces that build until they take off. It's music for headphones, dark rooms and very late nights.
Why do they have so many names?
We're more of a soul collective than a fixed band. Over the years we've spun off sister bands such as Acid Mothers Temple & the Cosmic Inferno, formed in 2005 for the band's tenth anniversary, SWR and Space Paranoid. Kawabata has said all of them are true forms of Acid Mothers Temple.
Where did it start on record?
The first album, Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O., came out on P.S.F. Records in 1997. Albums like Pataphisical Freak Out MU!! (1999) and Absolutely Freak Out (Zap Your Mind!!) (2001) soon followed.
Wear the trip
Every piece at Acid Mothers Temple Merch comes on tees, hoodies, sweatshirts and kids' sizes. Whether you found us last week or decades ago, there's something here for you.