Acid Mothers Temple

A Japanese collective formed in 1995 around guitarist Kawabata Makoto, Acid Mothers Temple has, from the start, developed a very free version of psychedelic rock and space rock, nourished by improvisation, hypnotic repetitions, noise, drones and echoes drawn from progressive rock and krautrock. Under its full name Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O., and through several offshoots such as Acid Mothers Temple SWR or Acid Mothers Temple & the Cosmic Inferno, the project long operated with a shifting lineup before consolidating around a more stable core in the mid-2000s. Acid Mothers Temple issues prolifically on international labels as well as on its own imprint, launched in 1998 to document the collective’s activities and those of its associated groups. Tours outside Japan began as early as 1998, with a regular presence in Europe and North America, and the group also maintains roots in the Japanese experimental scene through the Acid Mothers Festival, organized since 2002. Notable collaborations include Acid Mothers Gong with Gong and a recorded encounter with Reynols. On stage as in the studio, Acid Mothers Temple favors long forms, gradual buildups and textural shifts rather than a conventional rock format.