NOIZU (ノイズ): Japan’s Legacy of Extremity for the World

An unsuspecting listener presses play on their favorite music player, expecting to hear organized sounds to pass the time—perhaps as background for their daily tasks. The album cover is in Japanese; maybe it’s something exotic, something rooted in Japanese tradition. Suddenly, a shapeless, chaotic cacophony bursts from the speakers, demanding the listener’s full attention. The stereotypical Japanese calm is nowhere to be found. Instead, they’re confronted with an unsettling noise, impossible to trace to any familiar musical instrument.

This is how many first encounter Japanoise—or simply noizu (ノイズ): the hallmark of Japan’s underground music scene, known internationally within extreme music circuits. Both reviled and fascinating, it breaks with every musical convention, pushing the boundaries of sound and perception.