Japanese free psych/drone unit Tetragrammaton is one part 70s free improv (from the school of Kaoru Abe and Masayuki Takayanagi) and one part new millennium blissed-out drone/noise (a la Hototogisu and Vibracathedral Orchestra).

Mixing hurdy-gurdy, soprano saxophone, drums, percussion and (tabletop) guitar, the instrumentation might be well-suited to the folk-music of Eastern Europe, but falls more decisively into the camp of Fushitsusha or Borbetomagus.

The band has supported the legendary Keiji Haino on several occasions, collaborated with butoh legend Mitsutaka Ishii, and frequent guest spots have included Chie Mukai, Mitsuru Tabata (Acid Mother’s Temple, Zeni Geva), Damo Suzuki (ex. Can), Hiroshi Hasegawa (ASTRO) and improvising cellist Yasumune Morishige.

The three members, TOMO, Cal Lyall, and Ken Nobunaga are also involved in a number of other projects, ranging from harsh noise to world folk music to electronica.

Forming in 2006 with a bare-bones free improv lexicon, the band has moved towards dense drone-based structures and an increasingly multi-layered approach to thematic development, most evident on their most recent double-CD release from Subvalent, Elegy for Native Tongues.