Friction is an influential rock band from Japan, formed in 1978. They originally began in 1971 under the name Circle Triangle Square, and are considered to be one of the pioneers of Japan's alternative rock

Alternative rock

Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 scene.

History

Originally formed in 1971 as an avant-garde music group by bassist Reck, saxophonist Chico Hige, and drummer Sakuro Watanabe in Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, Japan. They changed the bands name to 3/3 in the mid 70s, and Reck and Chico later moved to the United States, where they would join the band Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, and later became the original founding members of James Chance and the Contortions

James Chance and the Contortions

James Chance and the Contortions, led by saxophonist and vocalist James Chance, were one of the original punk jazz groups of the New York No Wave music scene. Their first recording, credited solely as Contortions, was on the 1978 compilation, No New York, produced by Brain Eno...

 before returning to Japan.

Renaming 3/3 to form Friction, they recruited guitarist Tsunematsu Masatoshi, who had studied art at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts & Music. They released a live album and single in 1979, and their first studio album, Atsureki (軋轢, meaning 'friction' in Japanese) in 1980

1980 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1980.-January–March:*January 1**Cliff Richard is appointed an MBE by Elizabeth II.**The Zorros audition drummer Greg Pedley....

, produced by Ryuichi Sakamoto

Ryuichi Sakamoto

After working as a session musician with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi in 1977, the trio formed the internationally successful electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1978. Known for their seminal influence on electronic music, the group helped pioneer electronic genres such as...

. Tsunematsu left the band in December 1980 to become an artist, and from then on Friction has had numerous guest instrumentalists for lives and studio releases, all revolving around frontman Reck. The live video titled Dumb Numb was directed by Sogo Ishii

Sogo Ishii

', formerly is a Japanese filmmaker known for his striking visuals and sometimes outlandish subject matter.Ishii was born in Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, and is a graduate of Fukuoka Prefectural Fukuoka High School and Nihon University College of Art....

. Towards the year 2000, Friction went on hiatus when Reck started producing for other musicians, but restarted in 2007.

Discography

• Atsureki (1980)
• Skin Deep (album)|Skin Deep (1982)
• Live at "Ex Mattatoio" in Roma (1985)
• Replicant Walk (1988)
• Dumb Numb CD (1990)
• Zone Tripper (1995)
• Remixxx+One (1996)
• Live 1980 (Friction album)|Live 1980 (1996)
• "Best" (2007)
• "Friction 1978-2008" (2008)
• "Deepers" (2009)
• "2013 - Live Friction" (2010)

External links

• http://friction-officialsite.com Official Site
• Blues Interactions