Acid Mothers Temple // Live at Plan B — Malmö

Formed in 1995 by Makoto Kawabata at the same time as the Acid Mothers Temple Soul Collective, the group released its debut album in 1997 on PSF Records (Japan), and it was selected as one of the years best albums in The Wiremagazine (UK). In 1998 the group played their first tours of the US and Europe. Since then, the group has released a huge number of albums on labels from many different countries. As of 2017, the group has released around 80 albums. Every year since 1998, they have toured extensively in the US and Europe, and more recently have started performing around Asia and in Japan too.

The group has performed in collaboration with many musicians including psychedelic originators Gong and Guru Guru, Simeon (Silver Apples), Nik Turner (Hawkwind), and the Occitanian trad singer Rosina de Peira. Japanese collaborators have included Afrirampo, Tatsuya Yoshida (Ruins), Maso Yamazaki (Masonna), Seiichi Yamamoto (Boredoms), Jun Kuriyama (The Ox), and many others.

To begin with, the group had a floating line-up with contributions from many members of the AMT Soul Collective. But as tours became more frequent, the group began to coalesce around a core touring line-up. Other bands were created with Acid Mothers Temple as part of their name (AMT & The Cosmic Inferno, AMT SWR, AMT & The Space Paranoid, AMT & Infinity Rising Zero, Acid Mothers Gong, Acid Mothers Guru Guru, Acid Moon Temple, etc.), but AMT & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. has continued to function as the mothership and main lineage for all activities.

In 2016, 21 years since the groups founding, there was a major shift in the line-up and Next Generation was added to the name. The first 20 years are now viewed as chapter one of the story, with chapter two beginning thereafter.

The group has played more than 100 shows in each year, touring Europe, North America, South America, Oceania, Asia, and Japan. They have also played many festivals, including Glastonbury Festival (UK), Levitation (US and France), Rock In Opposition (France), Standon Calling (UK), Kuala Lumpur Experimental Film, Video & Music Festival (Malaysia), and LUC Fest 貴人散步音樂節 (Taiwan), among others.

During the pandemic, they launched their official Bandcamp, released more than 60 albums (including many previously unreleased materials), toured in Japan every year, and played the streaming festival Levitation Sessions. They also organized Acid Mothers Olympic 2021 against Tokyo Olympics 2021, originating and performing a new style of music sports. In autumn 2022, the group finally returned to Europe for their first post-pandemic tour. In 2023, they toured North America (USA, Canada, and Mexico) in both spring and autumn.

The current touring line-up is Kawabata Makoto (founder member), Higashi Hiroshi (founder member), Satoshima Nani, Jyonson Tsu, and Sawano Shozo.

Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O.:Kawabata Makoto: guitar, speed guruHigashi Hiroshi: synthesizer, fishin godJyonson Tsu: voice, guitar, bouzouki, midnight whistlerSatoshima Nani: drums, another dimensionSawano Shozo: bass, hex man