Kikagaku Moyo

Geometric patterns and Guruguru Brain

Go Kurosawa and Tomo Katsurada met in Tokyo in summer 2012, Katsurada back from studying film in the US, and recruited the rest through posters at their college. The name means geometric patterns; Kurosawa suggested it after seeing visuals during a long overnight jam caused by sleep deprivation. The final line-up was Go Kurosawa on drums and vocals, Katsurada on guitar, Kotsu Guy on bass, Daoud Popal on guitar and Ryu Kurosawa, Go's brother back from India, on sitar and keyboards; Angie Gotopo sang and played theremin in 2013 only. In 2015 they founded their own label, Guruguru Brain, to showcase East Asian music, run from Amsterdam by Kurosawa and Katsurada.

Their self-titled debut came in 2013, which Kurosawa told Bandcamp Daily was almost like a demo, then Forest of Lost Children (May 20, 2014). They toured the US for the first time in April 2014, playing Desert Daze and Austin Psych Fest, and the UK that October. House in the Tall Grass (May 13, 2016) was self-released on Guruguru Brain after labels turned it down. Stone Garden (April 21, 2017) was an EP, and they played Gizzfest in Australia with King Gizzard. Masana Temples followed on October 5, 2018, then the singles "Gypsy Davey" (Sub Pop, 2020) and "Ouchi Time", Live at Levitation (2021) and Deep Fried Grandeur with Ryley Walker (2021).

On January 19, 2022 they announced a hiatus after that year; Katsurada told Premier Guitar it was the healthiest way to keep a good relationship and friendship, and that they never cancelled a show in ten years. Kumoyo Island, the last album, came out on May 6, 2022, recorded between November 2020 and January 2021 at Tsubame Studio in Tokyo and at Guruguru Studio in Amsterdam; Pitchfork gave it 7.8. The final show was at Meguro Persimmon Hall in Tokyo on December 3, 2022. Premier Guitar notes their approach of instant composition borrowed from Can.