Nisennenmondai
Neji/Tori (Smalltown Supersound)

Nisennenmondai is:
Sayaka Himeno (drums)
Yuri Zaikawa (bass)
Masako Takada (guitar)

Smalltown Supersound is extremely proud to introduce Nisennenmondai to audiences outside of Japan for the first time. Nisennenmondai, which means “Year 2000 Problem,'' is an instrumental trio of girls from Tokyo who have been playing together for ten years.

Visits to Tokyo by Lightning Bolt, Battles, and No Age, to name a few, have discovered these three girls and their colossal sound. Prefuse 73 said in an interview with Dazed & Confused, “John Stanier from Battles had told me they were sick. . . They started to play and the drummer was as big as my hand. She started to play 16th notes on her hi-hat for about 15 minutes. Next thing you know, these three tiny diminutive women were making us look like idiots because they were so incredible.” Also adored by Hella, the band appears in “Concentration Face,” Hella’s tour DVD that was shot in Japan.

Neji/Tori is Nisennenmondai’s first release outside of Japan. It is an album comprised of their two Eps, “Neji” and “Tori,” and it features a cover designed by Kim Hiorthoy. Song titles including “This Heat,” “Sonic Youth” and “Pop Group,” grant insight into the realm of the band’s musical influences. Add in Black Flag, DNA, Neu! and Pere Ubu, and you are pretty close to reaching the Nisennenmondai sound. They play raw and repetitive post-punk instrumentals that are simultaneously wild and groovy with a no-wave/disco vibe.

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