Keiji Haino (???? Haino Keiji) born 1952 in Chiba, Japan.

In 1971 he starts playing in Lost Aaraaff.
From then on he will be one of the most unique and influential musicians in many layers of the music-underground - -- from noise to psych rock over avant-garde, free-jazz and minimal music.

In the mid-'70, as a key figure in Japanese underground, Haino forms Fushitsusha together with Yasushi Ozawa on bass and Jun Kosugi on drums. They record their debut album in 1989.
| a self-titled double album, that was reisued on PSF-records |
The first two Fushitsusha-albums (live-recordings) are based on feedback and noise. Later they tend more towards powerful garage rock, with the album Pathetique that was released in 1994.

In the mean time, Keiji Haino is releasing many solo albums, live and studio-work. His first solo-studio album was 'Watashi Dake' |1981 as LP - reissued 1993 as CD|

From the early '70 on, Haino is non-stop creating and releasing works solo, in collaboration or with Fushitsusha. In june 1998 the Fushitsusha-album 'Little Longer Thus' is released where the new drummer Ikuro Takahashi debuts. From then on the drummers come and go as the Fushitsusha-members all play in splintergroups. Untill November 2001, when Keiji Haino eventually decides to play the drums himself. At this point it seems like the band and it's inspirator are back together. Haino continues to produce more and more solo-work and collaborations with people like Kan Mikami, Loren Connors, Peter Brötzmann, ...

As in Fushitsusha, as in collaborations, as solo, Haino is a never-ending-explorer of depths of music. Always remaining faithfull to what fascinates himself: mysticism, intensity, depth, borders that are none ...

- -- My absolute favourites in his solo-work are The Black Blues (soft version), The Black Blues (violent version) and Twenty-first Century Hard-y Guide-y Man
- -- My absolute favourite in the Fushitsusha-catalogue is A Death Never to Be Complete that appeared in April 1997 and Hisou (Pathetique).

MUST-READS

- -- Halana Issue Two: interview by Alan Cummings conducted 29th July 1996

- -- The Wire: interview by Biba Kopf in issue151, September 1996

- -- An Unofficial Keiji Haino Website: a great site containing lots and lots and lots of info