Group Ongaku
Formed 1960 by Takehisa Kosugi and Yasunao Tone. Made the first Japanese noise recordings using vacuum cleaners, oil drums, radios, dolls, dishes, and manipulated tape. May 8, 1960: recorded Automatism and Object, treating traditional instruments like found objects, overloading recordings deliberately. Planted seeds for scene two decades early, though recordings didn't surface widely until much later. Disbanded 1962 after brief experimental run, but established template for sound as raw material freed from melody's obligations. Operated in context of post-war Japanese avant-garde, exploring art's boundaries while country rebuilt itself through rapid industrialization.
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Automatism / Object
First Japanese noise recordings, made May 8, 1960. Used vacuum cleaner, oil drum, radio, doll, dishes, and tape manipulation. Treated traditional instruments like found objects, overloaded recordings deliberately. Planted seeds for Japanoise decades before term existed, though recordings didn't circulate widely until much later. As documented by the new sources, this represented Japan's first exploration of sound as raw material freed from melody, influenced by global avant-garde movements but distinctly Japanese in execution. Established template for treating recording technology itself as instrument, manipulating tape speeds and overloading equipment—techniques that would define Merzbow's work two decades later.