Bo Ningen are a Japanese acid rock and neo-psychedelia group formed in London in 2006. The four-piece consists of Taigen Kawabe, Kohhei Matsuda, Akihide Monna and Yuki Tsujii. The band comes from Gumma, Tajimi, Nishinomiya and Tokyo, and later coalesces in London.

Formation and early activity

Taigen Kawabe and Kohhei Matsuda meet while playing in separate bands on the same bill in early 2007. They are later joined by Monchan Monna and Yuki Tsujii. The group books studio time on Hackney Road and, after a period of extended rehearsals and jams, plays its first fully formed show at the Wilmington Arms in summer 2007.

Bo Ningen then sets up its own night, Far East Electric Psychedelic, at Cross Kings in Kings Cross.

Live work and collaborations

The band performs across the UK, Europe and Japan. Its live and collaborative work includes a performance at the 2011 Venice Biennale with artists Tim Noble and Sue Webster, a version of that project recreated for Yoko Ono's Meltdown Festival at Royal Festival Hall, and an invitation to perform at the Victoria and Albert Museum's Yohji Yamamoto Friday Late event.

Bo Ningen also performs collaboratively with Damo Suzuki, Faust and Savages.

Recordings

The group releases the albums Line the Wall, III and Bo Ningen.