Keiji Haino & SUMAC

The Profile

A collaborative project pairing Japanese musician Keiji Haino with the U.S. band SUMAC. The collaboration produced the album American Dollar Bill - Keep Facing Sideways, You're Too Hideous To Look At Face On, released in 2018 on Thrill Jockey.

The album was recorded at Goksound Studios in Tokyo during improvised sessions captured on tape and later combined into three long compositions. The project pairs Keiji Haino's theatrical vocal and improvisational approach with SUMAC's heavy, experimental instrumentation. Released February 23, 2018 on Thrill Jockey. SUMAC is led by Aaron Turner.

The collected review describes the 2018 Keiji Haino & SUMAC collaboration as an improvised, unconventional album dominated by heavy bass, drums and massive distortion combined with Keiji Haino's theatrical vocals. Recordings were made in Tokyo and edited into long, unpredictable compositions. The album is challenging and likely polarizing, praised as courageous and expressionistic.