"Born November 17, 1963, in Morioka, Iwate prefecture, Mitsuru Nasuno (那須野満, Nasuno Mitsuru) started playing the electric bass at the age of 17, and soon began playing rock music with friends from his high school.

In 1981 Nasuno moved to Kyoto to attend Kyoto Sangyo University, where he joined student bands and played in a variety of pop styles - hard rock, new wave, funk, and so on. He even joined a university big band, and for a time took double bass lessons in order to play big band jazz.

After graduation, Nasuno played in several rock- and funk-oriented bands, such as Schwarz. It was during this period (in 1989) that he met drummer Yasuhiro Yoshigaki, who, with guitarist Kazuhisa Uchihashi, was planning to form a trio that would have a sound similar to that of the group Power Tools (Bill Frisell, Melvin Gibbs, and Shannon Jackson). Yoshigaki invited Nasuno to join him and Uchihashi, and about a year later - in April 1990 - the trio Altered States gave their first concert, in Kyoto.

For the first three years after the group formed, Nasuno felt unsure about how to adapt his playing style to the ideas of the other members, and he often thought about quitting; but eventually he overcame these difficulties and hit his stride. At first the pieces played by Altered States were mainly based on Uchihashi's compositions. Over time, improvisation made up a greater and greater proportion of their music, and now their live performances are entirely improvised.

Soon after the launching of Altered States, Nasuno became very interested in noise music. In 1993 he and drummer Toru Sanjo formed a band called the Mugamps, which made extensive use of odd rhythms and noise. The band remained together for about a year. In the same period, Nasuno was also a member (for a year) of the underground music band Amaryllis.

Through his activities with Altered States, Nasuno came to be known on the improvised music scene in Japan. In 1994 he became a member, along with Yoshigaki and Uchihashi, of turntable and guitar player Otomo Yoshihide's group Ground-Zero. The group's other members at the time were drummer Masahiro Uemura and bassist Masaki Shimizu (soon to be replaced by sampler player Sachiko M). In '97, Nasuno joined drummer Akira Sotoyama's group Manzokuyama (the other members of which are sax player Naruyoshi Kikuchi and guitarist Akihiro Ishiwatari); and in '98 he participated in drummer Tatsuya Yoshida's trio Korekyojinn, with guitarist Natsuki Kido.

In 1996, Nasuno moved his base of activity from Kyoto to the Tokyo area. In June of '98 he brought together five younger musicians (an alto sax player, two guitarists, a drummer, and a percussionist) and relaunched his band the Mugamps, whose first gig, in Tokyo, featured two guest musicians (a guitarist and a keyboard player).

Since 1993, as a member of Altered States and Ground-Zero, Nasuno has made several concert trips to Europe ('93, '95 and '97) and North America ('95). Among the musicians he has played with are Kazutoki Umezu (reeds), Koichi Makigami (voice), Seiichi Yamamoto (guitar), Atsushi Tsuyama (bass and guitar), Yamatsuka Eye (voice), Tenko (voice), Shuichi Chino (keyboards), Michiyo Yagi (koto), Yumiko Tanaka (shamisen), Hoppy Kamiyama (keyboards), Jon Rose (violin), Ned Rothenberg (reeds), Samm Bennett (percussion), Martin Tetreault (turntables), Leonid Soybelman (guitar and vocal), Jane Scarpantoni (cello), Hugo Fattoruso (keyboards), and Thomas Buckner (vocal)."

"Tatsuya Yoshida, born in Kitakami, Iwate is a Japanese musician; drummer and composer who is the only consistent member of the renowned progressive rock duo Ruins, as well as Koenji Hyakkei. He is also a member of the progressive rock trios Korekyojinn and Daimonji. Outside his own groups, Yoshida is renowned for his tenure as drummer in the indie progressive group YBO2, a band also featuring guitarist KK Null, whom he also joins in the current line up of Zeni Geva and he has played drums in a late edition of Samla Mammas Manna. He has been cited as "[the] indisputable master drummer of the Japanese underground". Along with his participation in bands, he has also released several solo recordings."

"Keiji Haino (灰野 敬二 Haino Keiji) born May 3, 1952 in Chiba, Japan, and currently residing in Tokyo, is a Japanese musician and singer-songwriter whose work has included rock, free improvisation, noise music, percussion, psychedelic music, minimalism and drone music. He has been active since the 1970s and continues to record regularly and in new styles.

Haino's initial artistic outlet was theatre, inspired by the radical writings of Antonin Artaud. An epiphanic moment came when he heard The Doors' "When The Music's Over" and changed course towards music. After brief stints in a number of blues and experimental outfits, he formed improvised rock band Lost Aaraaf in 1970. In the mid 1970s, having left Lost Aaraaf, he collaborated with psychedelic multi-instrumentalist Magical Power Mako.

His musical output throughout the late 1970s is scarcely documented, until the formation of his rock duo Fushitsusha in 1978 (although their first LP did not surface until 1989). This outfit initially consisted of Haino on guitar and vocals, and Tamio Shiraishi on synthesizer. With the departure of Shiraishi and the addition of Jun Hamano (bass) and Shuhei Takashima (drums), Fushitsusha operated as a trio. The lineup soon changed, with Yasushi Ozawa (bass) and Jun Kosugi (drums) performing throughout the 1990s, but returned to a duo with Haino supplementing percussion with tape-loops.

Haino formed Aihiyo in 1998, principally playing a diverse range of covers (including The Rolling Stones, The Ronettes, and the Jimi Hendrix Experience), transforming the original material into Haino's unique form of garage psychedelia.

NHK, Japan's national broadcaster, banned him from broadcast from 1973 to 2013.

Other groups Haino has formed include Vajra (with underground folk singer Kan Mikami and drummer Toshiaki Ishizuka), Knead (with the avant-prog outfit Ruins), Sanhedolin (with Yoshida Tatsuya of Ruins and Mitsuru Nasuno of Korekyojinn, Altered States and Ground Zero) and a solo project called Nijiumu. He has also collaborated with many artists, including Faust, Boris, Derek Bailey, Joey Baron, Peter Brötzmann, Lee Konitz, Loren Mazzacane Connors, Charles Gayle, Earl Kuck, Bill Laswell, Musica Transonic, Stephen O'Malley, Makigami Koichi, Ayuo, Merzbow, Oren Ambarchi, Jim O'Rourke, John Zorn, Yamantaka Eye, John Duncan, Fred Frith and Charles Hayward.

His main instruments of choice have been guitar and vocals, with many other instruments and approaches incorporated into his career's work. Haino is known for intensely cathartic sound explorations, and despite the fact that much of his work contains varied instrumentation and accompaniment, he retains a distinctive style.

Haino cites a broad range of influences, including troubadour music, Marlene Dietrich, Iannis Xenakis, Blue Cheer, Syd Barrett, and Charlie Parker. At a young age, he had an epiphany through his introduction to The Doors. His recent foray into DJing at Tokyo nightclubs has reportedly reflected his eclectic taste. He has had a long love affair with early blues music, particularly the works of Blind Lemon Jefferson, and is heavily inspired by the Japanese musical concept of "Ma", the silent spaces in music (see Taiko for more information). In a 2012 interview with Time Out Tokyo, he described his approach as "defying the notion that you can't create something from nothing." He also has a keen interest in Butoh dancing and collecting ethnic instruments.

Haino's distinctive style extends to his lifestyle: he has sported the same long hair, black clothes and sunglasses throughout his career, and is a strict vegetarian who has refrained from alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs for his entire life."