Two releases by the iconic Kyoto-based multimedia collective DUMB TYPE are available now through In Sheep’s Clothing distribution!

For fans of Laurie Anderson, Robert Wilson’s “theater of images,” Meredith Monk, Robert Ashley’s Perfect Lives, and Yellow Magic Orchestra’s techno-futurist vision, Dumb Type is a pioneering Kyoto-based multimedia collective that intertwined visual arts, architecture, music, computer programming, along with performance arts and theater. Founded in 1984, the group’s early projects explored the changing nature of everyday life amidst the economic growth of Japan and the rise of digital technology.

Central to the musical component of the project was the collaboration between drummer and video artist Teiji Furuhashi and musician Toru Yamanaka. The pair’s early influences included new wave and progressive rock, which later moved into an exploration in developing electronic technologies alongside the American avant-garde and minimal music scene (Philip Glass and Robert Wilson’s Einstein on the Beach was a crucial revelation). Their bold incorporation of cutting-edge sampling and house music during the ’80s laid the foundation for DUMB TYPE’s sound, marking an important intersection in the history of minimalism, ambient music and performance art in Japan.

Furuhashi: “Our idea was to combine everything — film, people, painting, sculpture, music — so it became like theater. We named it Dumb Type because we didn’t want to use any dialogue in our performance… We doubted words were the main form of interpersonal communication, and we wanted to explore deeper levels.”

“In the future, artistic expression will gradually become a part of everyday life. For example, if you are walking along the street and the landscape in front of you causes some special vision to take shape, then that will constitute an act of artistic expression.” “Interestingly, however, one becomes numb to this sensation when in Japan. It’s quite common to be faced with a situation in which one is unsure about whether something is art, or just an image.”

In 2024, Tokyo-based label collective Conatala release two DUMB TYPE cassette book works produced by Toru Yamanaka and Teiji Furuhashi. The releases are now available via In Sheep’s Clothing distribution. Shops can reach out to [email protected] for wholesale pricing!