Les Rallizes Denudes
December 20, 2011 2:52 PM Subscribe
Although the ultra-mysterious and rumour-cloaked Les Rallizes Dénudés/Hadaka no Rallizes existed in various forms from November 1967 to their last gig in October 1996 they are practically unknown in - let alone out of - Japan. Their recorded output is incredibly rare and highly priced and interviews or articles in the music press virtually non-existent. Tie that in with links to radical left-wing politics, extreme sensory assault at live shows and a general revolutionary aura and you have what must be the ultimate cult group.The name "Les Rallizes Dénudés"
apparently comes from "a Japanese word ('rallizes') presented as a French noun, then qualified by the French word for 'stripped bare,' or 'unveiled.' ... [At their first gig] they billed themselves as 'Haddaka No Rallizes'; this, a Japanese friend tells me, simply means 'naked and fucked up.'"
The band's original bassist, Moriaki Wakabayashi, was a member of the
Japanese Red Army, participated in the failed
Yodogo hijacking in 1970, and spent the next 32 years
in exile in North Korea.
And now, the music!
A few random songs to start with:
From the
'77 Live bootleg – apparently the
most common point of entry into the band's music:
From
Cable Hogue:
From the
Volcanic Performace box set:
Live at University Western Auditorium, Kyoto, 10 July 1994:
1 -
2 -
3 -
4.
posted by twirlip (12 comments total)
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posted by naju at 3:06 PM on December 20, 2011