Rovo | Profile Rovo was formed as the project space rock band Taiyo No To in 1995. A number of the members have some profile from other bands they are in, including guitarist Seiichi Yamamoto (Boredoms, five solo albums), bassist/harmonica player Jin Hara (Bazooka Joe), and keyboards/effects specialist Tatsuki Masuko (Dub Squad). The line-up of the band changed a number of times soon after formation, and in 1996 they became Robo, then in 1997 Rovo. In 1998 Rovo debuted with the mini album PICO!, and in 1999 released their debut album imago, a double CD on Sony in Japan and Incidental Music in the States. Both releases were well received critically. Their growing reputation led to them being booked to play the Fuji Rock festival in 2000 and 2001. In fact many feel the band is perhaps best experienced live, and an attempt to document their live energy resulted in their double live album Tonic 2001, recorded in NYC on their first US tour and released on John Zorn’s Tzadik label. Their next studio album was 2002’s Sai, which saw them switch labels to Warner Indies Network. Later in 2002 came the live album Live at Liquid Room, followed in 2003 by another live album, this one recorded at Tokyo’s famed outdoor venue Hibiya Yagai Ongakudo. In recent times the band has had a fairly stable line-up which includes, in addition to the aforementioned, drummer/percussionist Yoichi Okabe (the Thrill, Bondage Fruits, solo album Satiation in 2001), keyboard player Hiroshi Nakanishi (Dub Squad), drummer/percussionist Yasuhiro Yoshigaki (Otomo Yoshide collaborator), guitarist Hakkai Koenji and violinist Yuji Katsui, who also serves as the band’s producer and is Rovo’s de facto leader. The band’s double drum line-up helps them create complex, some times hypnotic polyrhythms, which can swerve from dub to tribal drum-circle jams to psychedelic trance, and allows them to play on bills with a wide range of other artists. The band operate under the motto “Man-Driven-Trance”, and explain this in part by saying that they aspire to eliminate boundaries between DJ’s and bands, and between digital and acoustic music. The band has recorded prolifically, and while a number of albums are currently out of print, some are being re-issued in 2005. Rovo’s most recent album is Mon, released in November 2004. Nakanashi left the band shortly after the album was released, and played his sayonara show with the group at Shibuya Ax. by Keith Cahoon
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