Masonna
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The Masonna project 'symbol'. |
Masonna (
マゾンナ), started in 1987 in
Osaka Japan, is the
noise music project of
Yamazaki Maso. Sometimes rendered as an acronym M.A.S.O.N.N.A., standing for either
Mademoiselle Anne Sanglante Ou Notre Nymphomanie Auréolé (
French, meaning in English 'Miss Bloody Anne, Or Our Aureoled Nymphomania'; proper spelling is
Auréolée. Spelt in
kana;
血まみれのアンヌ嬢・若しくは・我等がニンフォマニアが・後光に包まれる) or more rarely
Mystic Another Selection Of Nurses Naked Anthology. Maso has said before that the name is a pun on
U.S. pop music star
Madonna, though the name is also a composite of Maso (Japanese for 'Masochist') & Onna (Japanese for 'Girl') alluding again to the fetishistic "bloody Anne" reference in the French acronym. Along with
Merzbow, Masonna is one of the best known
Japanese noise projects.
The Masonna project has been the opening act for several well known artists on their Japanese concert dates, including
Sonic Youth &
Beck. Masonna also caught the attention of
John Peel and was featured on his program, having even done a limited Masonna 'John Peel Sessions' CD.
Masonna is most known for Yamazaki's wild live performances which usually consist of damaging his equipment and jumping around madly. He has given entire concerts which last only a few seconds. In 1996 Masonna toured the United States on the "American Mystique Tour" named after his only album to be released on two formats, "Inner Mind Mystique", the dates and venues were as follows;
* Oct. 3rd at
Club Moe, Seattle WA with guests
Daniel Menche, Small Cruel Party &
Merzbow* Oct. 4th at
Reed College, Portland OR with guests Daniel Menche, Smegma & Merzbow
* Oct. 5th at
Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco, CA with guests
Bastard Noise & Merzbow
* Oct. 6th at
Noisegate Loft, Oakland, CA with guests F.A.G.G.O.T., Noisegate & Merzbow
* Oct. 8th at
Spaceland, Los Angeles, CA with guests Speculum Fight, Subarachnoid Space & Merzbow
* Oct. 9th at
Jabberjaw, Los Angeles, CA with guests Bastard Noise & Merzbow
* Oct. 11th at
The Pieta, Cleveland, OH with guests Psywarfare & Merzbow
* Oct. 13th at
The Knitting Factory, New York, NY with guests
Borbetomagus & Merzbow
* Oct. 14th at
Mama Kin, Boston, MA with guests Skin Crime, The Japanese Torture Comedy Hour, Nightstick, Emil Beaulieu & Merzbow
*
Shinsen Na Clitoris - Vanilla Records, Japan (1990) 2 tracks (Total Run Time; 31:42)
*
Mademoiselle Anne Sanglante Ou Notre Nymphomanie Aureolé - Alchemy Records, Japan (1993) 31 tracks (Total Run Time; 43:10)
*
Noskl In Ana - Alchemy Records, Japan (1994) 9 tracks (Total Run Time; 65:50)
*
Super Compact Disc - Alchemy Records, Japan (1995) 1 track (Total Run Time; 33:33)
*
Noisextra - RRRecords, USA (1995) 2 tracks (Total Run Time; 43:20)
*
Ejaculation Generater - Alchemy Records, Japan (1996) 32 tracks (Total Run Time; 30:58)
*
Inner Mind Mystique - Relapse Records, USA (1996) 7 tracks (Total Run Time; 38:28)
*
Hyper Chaotic - V Records, USA (1996) 19 tracks (Total Run Time; 36:58)
*
Freak-Out Electrolyze - Nanophonica Records, Japan (1997) 14 tracks (Total Run Time; 32:05)
*
Spectrum Ripper - Cold Spring Records, UK (1998) 25 tracks (Total Run Time; 41:32)
*
Frequency L.S.D. - Alien 8 Recordings, Canada (1998) 14 tracks (Total Run Time; 40:18)
*
Vestal Spacy Ritual - Alchemy Records, Japan (1999) 15 tracks (Total Run Time; 30:56)
*
Beauty Beast - Blast First Records, UK (1999) 2 tracks (Total Run Time; 21:23)
*
Shock Rock - MIDI Creative Records, Japan (2002) 31 tracks (Total Run Time; 46:44)
* "Amusing Ourselves to Death" [
1] (fourth interview down) June 1993 interview from Bananafish #8 by David Hopkins.
* Interview [
2] and translation by Matt Kaufman 6/29/94.
*
Official website.*
Unofficial discography.*
Masonna album reviews at rateyourmusic.com
