Zongamin

Susumu Mukai[1] (born c.1974, Osaka, Japan),[2] better known as Zongamin, is a UK-based Japanese-born musician and producer.

Zongamin
Zongamin (2nd from left) in Vanishing Twin, Glastonbury Festival, 2019
Background information
Birth nameSusumu Mukai
Born1974 (age 4849)
Osaka, Japan
Member ofVanishing Twin

Biography

Mukai was born in Japan and moved to East Anglia at the age of eleven.[3] He attended Summerhill School where he started playing bass guitar and other instruments.[3] He went on to study at the Royal College of Art, and was signed to Mike Silver's Flesh Records label.[3]

Mukai explained his stage name: "When I started this imaginary band I wanted to name it with a new word."[3]

Zongamin live band was formed in 2000. Past and current members : Nathalie Fowler. Mao Yamada. Leon Harris. Leo Taylor. Will Sweeney. Robert Green.

His self-titled debut album was released in 2003 by XL Recordings, and met with a positive critical response; Allmusic gave it a three-star rating, commenting on the "wealth of ideas" and an "endearing 'anything goes' playfulness" on the album.[4] Pitchfork Media gave it 7.3/10,[5] Gigwise.com also gave the album an enthusiastic review, calling it "a lo-tech electro-fuzz monster".[6]

He has also acted as a remixer for Air,[7] Playgroup, Graffiti, John Cale, Mickey Moonlight, Headman, Sandro Perri, Alexis Taylor and Seelenluft.[8]

Since 2015, he has been a member of Vanishing Twin.[9][10]

Mukai is currently also a member of Becker & Mukai, Off World, Stalactite and School Of Hypnosis.

Musical style

His music has been described as "incorporating left-field disco, funk, hip-hop, and house, along with good old sloppy garage rock and spaghetti Western soundtracks",[4] and "post punk, somewhat cheesy funkdom interspersed with droning catchy dance hooks".[2] Gigwise.com described his debut album as "a schizophrenic shot of spaghetti western mayhem, angular foot-stamping menace, and made-in-the-kitchen-sink funk".[6]

Discography

Albums

  • Zongamin (Vinyl LP; 12" album; 33 rpm). XL Recordings. 2003. ASIN B000088EGG.
  • Flesh Tapes (Audio CD; imported; total 11 tracks). Flesh Records. 2004. ASIN B0002MOLL0.
  • Zongamin (Audio CD; imported; total 12 tracks). Flesh Records. 2007-08-28. ASIN B000088EGH.
  • "O!" (Vinyl EP; 12"; total 4 tracks). Multi Culti. 2018.

Singles

  • "Serious Trouble" (2000), Flesh
  • "Tunnel Music" (2001), Flesh
  • "Spiral" (2002), XL
  • "Serious Trouble" (2003), XL
  • "Hotel 17" (2004), Kitsuné
  • "Bongo Song" (2005), Ed Banger

References

  1. ""FOMA ga omoshiroi kotoni nattekita"no Sony Ericsson「SO902i」no CM-kyoku wa?" [What is the Sony Ericsson "SO902i" CF song for "Things are getting exciting with FOMA"?]. CD Journal (in Japanese). ONGAKU SHUPPANSHA Co.,Ltd. 2006-03-24. Retrieved 2018-04-05.
  2. Colley, Claire (2003) "Zongamin Zongamin Archived June 29, 2011, at the Wayback Machine", musicOMH, retrieved 2010-06-25
  3. Walton, Matt (2003) "Zongamin Archived November 22, 2008, at the Wayback Machine", BBC, 28 March 2003, retrieved 2010-06-25
  4. Kellman, Andy "Zongamin Review", Allmusic, Retrieved 25 June 2010
  5. Bryant, Andrew (2003) "Zongamin Zongamin", Pitchfork Media, 28 May 2003, retrieved 2010-06-25
  6. Bruzon, Tim (2003) "Zongamin 'Zongamin'", Gigwise.com, 24 September 2003, retrieved 2010-06-25
  7. "Air Remixed by Zongamin", aversion.com, 12 March 2004, retrieved 2010-06-25
  8. Kellman, Andy "Zongamin Biography", Allmusic, retrieved 2010-06-25
  9. Vanishing Twin
  10. "Vanishing Twin lament lost futures on astral new album the Age of Immunology". 12 March 2019.
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