BAND OF THE WEEK: KK NULL
The prolific Japanese legend is on a cosmic sonic journey that shows no signs of slowing down.
If there ever was a contest for most adorable photo ever published on The Devil’s Mouth, that one just effectively ended it. Also, if you look at it without any kind of context, you wouldn’t necessarily think this lovely gentleman holding the irresistibly cute MARUTO is responsible for some of the most out-there, boundary-pushing, wildly exploratory electronic music that’s being made today, would you? Or even more unlikely still, that this is the very same musician who bludgeoned us throughout the ‘90s (mostly) with the punishing harshness of Zeni Geva, among others.
Right? So yeah, looks can be deceiving, and really nice people do have a tendency to make the best crazy music. But now that we have the context of the dimension of the artist we are talking about, let us focus on the current output of mr. Kazuyuki Kishino as KK NULL. And there is a whole lot to focus on, so much that sometimes it’s hard to keep up, even as a listener. I’m a long time follower and admirer of the man, ever since the early Zeni Geva days, so I’m always looking for an excuse to talk about him (like, here, recently, for instance), and I first decided to pick him for this feature and try for an interview with him when listening to the extraordinary ‘Brutal Illumination III’ piece. KK has a few different “series” of material going, and Brutal Illumination has been one of my favourites ever since he released the first one in May last year (here it is, and listen to II as well). I like how huge it sounds, like planet-devouring enormous, but at the same time how intimate it feels too - the actual dynamics of the pieces really capture this constant duality of two seemingly incompatible things touching, just like the title suggests with brutality and illumination being coupled. It’s abrasive but at the same time soothing, it’s harsh but it pulls you closer. This is a theme that is more or less common to a lot of the KK NULL output of recent years - his Bandcamp profile offers the perfect description “material which could be described as ‘cosmic noise maximal/minimalism’” -, but in this Brutal Illumination series it really is at the forefront.
And hey, this wasn’t all that long ago - as you can see, ‘Brutal Illumination III’ was released on June 21st. It was on my list when I was preparing the selections for June’s The Devil’s Month edition, and since I already had a little too many, I thought I’d “upgrade” this release to Band Of The Week status. However, if you go to KK’s Bandcamp page now, you’ll see that it is already about to be bumped off the first line already, with three other releases having appeared since then, a new volume of the Amplituhedron series, ‘Amplituhedron x 0.111’, a remaster+remix of an old early ‘90s piece, “a radical exploration of sound using nothing but electric guitar, effect pedals, and a 4-track analog cassette recorder”, called ‘Absolute Heaven [ Primordial NULL-SONIC ] series 1‘, plus the beginning of a new series, ‘Dust Intelligence ALPHA’, focusing on “granularity, voids, and depth of sound,” as a sort of reaction/opposition to the Amplituhedron series.
I won’t pretend to be a rabid connoisseur of experimental electronics and all these vast worlds that KK dabbles in, and I do know how some of these electronics-based sound creators are indeed often very prolific, but I know something special and unique when I listen to it. This is far beyond your techno nerd spouting off textures and beats and stuff just because. There is genuine thought and structure and meaning behind this man’s music, which becomes entirely apparent once you hear him explain the ideas for each series (just scroll down for the interview where he does just that!) and even if a dozen different new releases pop up if you leave his Bandcamp alone for a minute, you know all of them will be worthy of your time. Each series is a universe unto itself, and if you go down the rabbit hole of KK NULL’s Bandcamp alone, with its 119 releases (as of today, July 18th 2025) available, you might be gone from our plane of existence for a while, embarking on a multi-dimensional, mindblowing sonic journey. In these “interesting times” we live in, it might be exactly what you need.
Find KK NULL on Bandcamp and Facebook.
Read our interview with Kazuyuki Kishino below - thank you for your kindness and availability, KK. 🖤
“I just keep my mind open and let chemistry happen.”
—KK NULL
Can you try to explain how much of your writing process relies on spontaneity and improvisation, and how much of it relies on a previous plan you already have in mind?
Kazuyuki Kishino: Mostly it starts from improvisation with no particular idea. Sometimes I already have vague ideas, rough sketches in mind and list of titles in advance or sometimes those come up later, it all depends. And there’s no fixed goal or achievement I want to get at all costs. Everything is going spontaneously, I just keep my mind open and let chemistry happen. And at the next stage, my brain starts to work to construct, edit, mix, etc, to make up those generated materials to one composed piece.
I like how the artwork of the Brutal Illumination series really inspires the same feelings as the sound itself, it is a great visual representation. “The rupture and fusion of the organic and the inorganic,” as you mentioned on your last post. Was this the central concept of the trilogy, this contrast between the organic and inorganic?
KK: I don’t mean it with such dualism, it’s about more an obscure unidentified zone between black and white. And Illumination (Eureka moment) comes from somewhere in that very between. By the way, the title ‘Brutal Illumination’ is inspired by ‘Les Illuminations’ by Arthur Rimbaud and ‘Sugarcane Switch’ by Eartheater (one of my recent favourite songs).
Of course, your recent output isn’t limited to the Brutal Illumination pieces. Would you like to talk about some other of your recent releases, namely those from the Amplituhedron series, and others, as a sort of introduction to those who might not be aware of them?
KK: As you can see on my Bandcamp site, I have released eleven titles already in the first six months of 2025. And currently I’m working on several pieces simultaneously:
The ‘Amplituhedron’ series, inspired by amplituhedron—a geometric construct in quantum field theory representing the compression of infinite scattering possibilities into elegant simplicity (introduced in 2013 by Nima Arkani-Hamed and Jaroslav Trnka). So far, three out of the series were released: Amplituhedron x 0.101, x 0.110 and x 0.111, and more to come……
‘Nocturnal Machines’, based on the live recorded audio materials of the automated machines at a factory. An attempt of sonic interpretation of some kind of bio mechanical intelligence emerging from inorganic machines. ‘Nocturnal Machines _RAW’ has been released, and more to come……
Just started a new series called ‘Dust Intelligence’, inspired by the concept of Dust Intelligence, as articulated by the philosopher Reza Negarestani. The first installment ‘Dust Intelligence ALPHA’ is out now.
The ‘[Primordial NULL-Sonic]’ series, a project of reissuing early works produced without computer, digital devices/softwares and recorded onto analog tape recorder in the early ‘90s. The first installment, ‘Absolute Heaven’ (originally created by electric guitar and effect pedals only in 1991 & 1993) has just been released, with remastered original three tracks and plus one remixed track. And many more to come…….
As much as you are comfortable revealing it, how is in fact your method of writing and playing these sounds, in practice? What kind of equipment do you use, do you edit parts from longer sessions, do you alter your gear from release to release… And also, do you have a specific frame of mind, or even a time of day, that you need to be able to be inspired to write? Basically, how is a day in the life of Mr. Kishino, composer of sounds?
KK: As I mentioned already, everything starts from spontaneous improvisation. In the morning (I’m an early riser), with a cup of strong black coffee, I start to generate sound, playing with some softwares, synthesizers, drum machines, weird & magical inventions on my computer, just like a pianist plays piano every day, it’s a part of my daily routine. Of course, it’s after having a Happy Peppy walk with MARUTO 🐶
I’m glad you mentioned the wonderful MARUTO! Does he actually listen to the music you make, and does he have any kind of reaction?
KK: MARUTO is very delicate and sensitive, he’s frightened of fireworks, thunder, so we never make big noises around him.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think you haven’t performed live in quite a while. Are you still at all interested in that side of things, or would you rather just tinker with sounds on your own and keep putting out these releases?
KK: I had been playing live in public for nearly four decades, traveling around many countries, various places. I feel like I spent half of my lifetime outside my home. That’s enough already. And also I was exhausted, tired of everything about touring, playing the same sets repeatedly. I felt I’ve reached my limit. I can’t see any more possibility and potentiality in live performance. I needed a break and I want to be with my beloved family as much as possible. Then I was determined to focus all my energy and time to work in my home studio and dig sound deeper, explore and experiment new possibilities in composing music.
If you don’t mind me asking about Zeni Geva and your past in general, I wonder if you miss doing that kind of music, of doing something more… rock’n’roll, I guess! Have you ever thought of reactivating Zeni Geva in any way?
KK: I’m not sure if I want to be on the stage again, but who knows? However, Neurot Recordings and Skin Graft Records have plans to reissue some of ZENI GEVA albums on vinyl.
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