In the 1990s, during Japan’s second psychedelic revolution, three players with an insatiable appetite for epic aural freakouts were working overtime together in two simultaneous supergroup trios. When they weren’t busy with their regular bands, High Rise bassist Nanjo Asahito, Acid Mothers Temple guitarist Makoto Kawabata, and Ruins drummer Tatsuya Yoshida constituted both Musica Transonic and Mainliner.
In theory, these offshoots had somewhat distinct aims. Mainliner was all about kicking the monstrously heavy fuzz-fests of High Rise and Acid Mothers Temple up to another level. Musica Transonic was more about improv, imagining a world where the jazz element of free jazz was replaced by apocalyptic noise.