Masonna

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The Masonna project 'symbol'.

Masonna (マゾンナ), started in 1987 in Osaka Japan, is the noise music project of Yamazaki Maso. Sometimes rendered as an acronym M.A.S.O.N.N.A., standing for either Mademoiselle Anne Sanglante Ou Notre Nymphomanie Auréolé (French, meaning in English 'Miss Bloody Anne, Or Our Aureoled Nymphomania'; proper spelling is Auréolée. Spelt in kana; 血まみれのアンヌ嬢・若しくは・我等がニンフォマニアが・後光に包まれる) or more rarely Mystic Another Selection Of Nurses Naked Anthology. Maso has said before that the name is a pun on U.S. pop music star Madonna, though the name is also a composite of Maso (Japanese for 'Masochist') & Onna (Japanese for 'Girl') alluding again to the fetishistic "bloody Anne" reference in the French acronym. Along with Merzbow, Masonna is one of the best known Japanese noise projects.

The Masonna project has been the opening act for several well known artists on their Japanese concert dates, including Sonic Youth & Beck. Masonna also caught the attention of John Peel and was featured on his program, having even done a limited Masonna 'John Peel Sessions' CD.

Masonna is most known for Yamazaki's wild live performances which usually consist of damaging his equipment and jumping around madly. He has given entire concerts which last only a few seconds. In 1996 Masonna toured the United States on the "American Mystique Tour" named after his only album to be released on two formats, "Inner Mind Mystique", the dates and venues were as follows;

[edit] American Mystique Tour 1996

Oct. 3rd at Club Moe, Seattle WA with guests Daniel Menche, Small Cruel Party & Merzbow
Oct. 4th at Reed College, Portland OR with guests Daniel Menche, Smegma & Merzbow
Oct. 5th at Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco, CA with guests Bastard Noise & Merzbow
Oct. 6th at Noisegate Loft, Oakland, CA with guests F.A.G.G.O.T., Noisegate & Merzbow
Oct. 8th at Spaceland, Los Angeles, CA with guests Speculum Fight, Subarachnoid Space & Merzbow
Oct. 9th at Jabberjaw, Los Angeles, CA with guests Bastard Noise & Merzbow
Oct. 11th at The Pieta, Cleveland, OH with guests Psywarfare & Merzbow
Oct. 13th at The Knitting Factory, New York, NY with guests Borbetomagus & Merzbow
Oct. 14th at Mama Kin, Boston, MA with guests Skin Crime, The Japanese Torture Comedy Hour, Nightstick, Emil Beaulieu & Merzbow

[edit] CD Discography

Shinsen Na Clitoris - Vanilla Records, Japan (1990) 2 tracks (Total Run Time; 31:42)
Mademoiselle Anne Sanglante Ou Notre Nymphomanie Aureolé - Alchemy Records, Japan (1993) 31 tracks (Total Run Time; 43:10)
Noskl In Ana - Alchemy Records, Japan (1994) 9 tracks (Total Run Time; 65:50)
Super Compact Disc - Alchemy Records, Japan (1995) 1 track (Total Run Time; 33:33)
Noisextra - RRRecords, USA (1995) 2 tracks (Total Run Time; 43:20)
Ejaculation Generater - Alchemy Records, Japan (1996) 32 tracks (Total Run Time; 30:58)
Inner Mind Mystique - Relapse Records, USA (1996) 7 tracks (Total Run Time; 38:28)
Hyper Chaotic - V Records, USA (1996) 19 tracks (Total Run Time; 36:58)
Freak-Out Electrolyze - Nanophonica Records, Japan (1997) 14 tracks (Total Run Time; 32:05)
Spectrum Ripper - Cold Spring Records, UK (1998) 25 tracks (Total Run Time; 41:32)
Frequency L.S.D. - Alien 8 Recordings, Canada (1998) 14 tracks (Total Run Time; 40:18)
Vestal Spacy Ritual - Alchemy Records, Japan (1999) 15 tracks (Total Run Time; 30:56)
Beauty Beast - Blast First Records, UK (1999) 2 tracks (Total Run Time; 21:23)
Shock Rock - MIDI Creative Records, Japan (2002) 31 tracks (Total Run Time; 46:44)

[edit] Interviews

"Amusing Ourselves to Death" [1] (fourth interview down) June 1993 interview from Bananafish #8 by David Hopkins.
Interview [2] and translation by Matt Kaufman 6/29/94.