是巨人 (also spelled
Korekyojin) is a Japanese
progressive rock power trio. Founded in 1998, the band is a project by members of several bands within the Japanese progressive rock/
zeuhl scene and has released albums on two US labels,
John Zorn's
Tzadik Records and Skin Graft Records as well as on the Japanese label Magaibutsu.
In Japanese, the band's name means "this giant" and is a pun on the band names
This Heat and
Gentle Giant.
[ Korekyojinn at the webpage of the Magaibutsu record label]
Members
Drummer
Tatsuya Yoshida, owner of the Magaibutsu label, has founded the band Ruins and has been active in several other bands and collaborations, e.g. Kōenjihyakkei and Daimonji.
Bassist Mitsuro Nasuno was a member of the
noise music/improvisation bands Ground Zero and Altered States and has been a member of Daimonji;
[ Mitsuro Nasuno at Discogs] guitarist Natsuki Kido has been a member of the
zeuhl band
Bondage Fruit.
Music
Korekyojinn plays instrumental music composed by Yoshida Tatsuya. The band web page describes it as "
Progressive Jazz Rock Polyrhythmique" – "
where progressive rock and contemporary jazz collide into a breathtaking, futuristic, hard rock funk".
Reception
Allmusic reviewers have awarded the first album
Korekyojin (1999) with 3.5/5 and the third album
Isotope (2005) with 4/5 stars,
while Sean Westergaard states in his unrated Allmusic review of
Tundra (2011): "
Tundra is a great album by a great band".
's Dominique Leone reviewed the second album
Arabesque (2004) with a rating of 8/10.
[ Leone, Dominique: Arabesque review at Pitchfork Media] The German progressive rock review website Babyblaue Seiten rated
Korekyojin and
Arabesque with 11/15 and
Isotope with 13/15.
[ Babyblaue Prog-Reviews: Korekyojin]
Discography
-
1999: Korekyojin (Tzadik)
-
2004: Arabesque (Magaibutsu)
-
2005: Isotope (Tzadik)
-
2006: Jackson (Magaibutsu)
-
2009: Swan Dive (Magaibutsu)
-
2011: Doldrums (with Tsuboy Akihisa) (Magaibutsu)
-
2011: Tundra (Magaibutsu/Skin Graft)
External links
