Bondage Fruit

by Geoff Orens One of the finest examples of Japanese Zeuhl music, Bondage Fruit created their sound by fusing together various musical styles from rock to experimental to ethnic. With wild, almost tribal female singing and interesting instrumentation, the group built a strong reputation in the Japanese underground; the band focused on more aggressive improvisational material as their career progressed and their two vocalists left. Bondage Fruit was formed in 1990 by Kido Natsuki (guitar), Yuji Katsui (violin), and Otsubo Hirohiko (drums). The band had it's roots in Deforme, a group Katsui had begun in 1980. Various additional musicians passed in and out of Bondage Fruit over the next three years. However, in 1993, the lineup became stable with the addition of Tamara Kumiko (vibraphone), Okabe Yoichi (percussion), former member of the Hundred Sights of Koenji, Aki (vocals), and Saga Yuki (jazz vocals). The group performed extensively in Tokyo over the next couple years and built a strong following in the underground music scene. A cassette release culled from material from their live shows sold 300 copies. Pleased, the group founded their own label, Maboroshi No Sekai. In 1994, they released their eponymous debut album with a decidedly experimental tone. It received good reviews from the international press and the band built upon their sound with Bondage Fruit II (1996), by which point Aki had left the band. Meanwhile, the group's performances were drawing larger audiences for each show, which usually featured improvisational material. Yuki's departure from the band left the group without a vocalist, and for a while the group was thrown into confusion. However, abandoning vocalists, they released the live album, Bondage Fruit III Recit in 1997, which showed the band focusing on more of an improvisational and aggressive sound. Bondage Fruit IV (1999) featured a similar sound and was followed later that year by Live at IPMF.