CLUB CLANDESTINO | APRIL 27 | OCEANEN

It was supposed to be a noise jam between two friends, just for fun. But immediately after Tommi Tokyo and Sayaka Botanic formed Group A in Tokyo 2012, rumors began to spread in Japanese avant-garde circles about the strange duo on the border between performance art and synth music. Using drum machines, synthesizers, violins and cassette tapes, they created a kind of rusty, futuristic boogie, with rice hats made of aluminum and nude body painting as part of the stage show. Post punk, dub and industrial music are clear sources of inspiration, but the singer and multi-instrumentalist Tommi Tokyo also declares that rituals from Shinto and Buddhism are fundamental influences.

With the album [70 + A =], their hypnotic obscure, cutting noise and minimal wave sounds reached Europe’s underground scenes, and Group A left Tokyo to make Berlin their current headquarters.