Bill Laswell leads that nebulous pack. He played Naeba with Ruins drummer Yoshida and that freakazoid, Buckethead, as Praxis. Welshman, Gruf Rhys has come to Japan numerous times with Super Furry Animals, but this year he gives his new project Neon Neon a spin. Bassist, Kim Deal, came with her alma mater, the Pixies, in 2004. Now she’ll hit the stage with her sister, Kelly, and the rest of the Breeders.

On the Japanese side, there are more than a few musical permutations. The Soil and “Pimp” Sessions let their rhythm section loose to jam as, er, J.A.M.

Then there are professional mutators like Fuwa Daisuke and Seichi Yamamoto: Fuwa-san’s unspeakably kickass Shibusa Shirazu Orchestra has been bringing its nearly cult-like fans (including me) since 2001. This year they won’t appear (rumor has it they misbehaved too much last time) but Fuwa-san will perform with fellow SSO cadre, Ayako Sasaki (also of the great Chan Band) and Seiichi Yamamoto, one of Japan's most prolific guns-for-hire, playing numerous Fujirocks with the Boredoms, Rovo, Praxis, and now with Para (great article/interview here).

But perhaps the happiest mutant of all is Boredoms frontman and all-around professional noisemaker, Yamantaka Eye (pictured above). After a stint with his main gig last year, Eye is back again to play as AEO, ostensibly to DJ and do god knows what else.

Decent Boredoms profile in the New Yorker here.

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