Michio Kurihara is one of the most instantly recognisable guitar stylists to break out of the modern Tokyo rock scene. In his work with Ghost, Boris, Marble Sheep and White Heaven, his euphoric solos explore space and tone in a freeform spirit which became a signature of the psych explosion of the 1990s and 2000s.

Since the 2000s he has formed a close alliance with US dream pop duo and International Sad Hits curators Damon & Naomi, touring live with the duo many times and performing on their albums False Beats & True Hearts and Everything Quieter Than Everything Else. He released a solo album Sunset Notes in 2005. A Sky Record by Damon & Naomi with Kurihara is released on 20 20 20 this month.

Rory Gallagher
“Messin’ With The Kid”
From Live In Europe (Polydor) 1972

This was the first LP I bought, at a record store in a neighboring town when I was 16 years old. I became interested in Rory Gallagher when I read an article about him in a music magazine that my brother had at the time. Of course, I had never heard any of his other works. It just so happened that this live album was the only album of his that the record store had. However, I still remember the excitement I felt when the first song started. "What a cool sound!" The exquisite intonation of the backing and the guitar solo that was full of emotion. And the picking harmonics that seemed to be produced by force. Since then, his guitar has become one of my goals. To this day, his playing is still my role model. Surprisingly, I think he and many other guitarists reached a high level of playing at a young age. Rory Gallagher in particular, I believe, was a pioneer in perfecting the use of the Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster. I would like to express my sincere respect for the achievements of these great predecessors. I'm still experimenting and trying to sound as good as he did.

Blue Cheer
“Parchment Farm”
From Vincebus Eruptum (Philips) 1968

The first time I heard Blue Cheer play was when I was 18 years old. One of my friends let me listen to a cassette tape that had a really cool song on it, I didn't know who it was. It was something I had never heard before, something that shocked me beyond description. It wasn't until about a year later that I found out it was “Summertime Blues” and “Second Time Around” from the first Blue Cheer album. Anyway, Leigh Stephens’s playing on this album is fantastic. According to his later interviews, he used a Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face on this album. While Jimi Hendrix, who was also using a Fuzz Face at the time, was constantly controlling the volume of his guitar to adjust the tone, Leigh seems to have been gracefully creating his sound by just turning the fuzz on and off! The speed of this song in particular and the crazy solo in the middle section are perfectly wonderful. I don't know how they were able to create such eccentric arrangements and phrases back then. I can only say it was amazing.

So, I think I've been greatly influenced by Leigh Stephens’s playing as well.

Can
“Mary, Mary So Contrary”
From Monster Movie (Music Factory) 1967

The first time I heard Can was when I was 22 years old, I believe. One of my band mates at the time played this album for me. I immediately liked the group because of their wonderful ensemble playing. First of all, the singer, Malcolm Mooney, sang wonderfully. It was a real shame that I had never heard of them before. Michael Karoli’s guitar sounded incredibly beautiful, especially in this sad song. The solo in the middle section is so wonderful that there are no words to describe it. I was also quite influenced by the drone-like approach of the high-note guitar in the second half. He is one of the musicians I most admire. Incidentally, the song “Thief” on “Delay 1968”, a collection of their unreleased material released in 1981, has a similar tune and approach, and is also a beautiful song. On a side note, Michael Rother’s solo works (“Katzenmuzik”, etc on the German label Sky Records. I love those too!) from the late 70s, which Damon recommended to me a few years ago, include the participation of Can's drummer Jaki Liebzeit, and I feel the similarities between them, such as the long tone phrases with the unique fuzz tone.

Milton Nascimento & Lô Borges
“Trem De Doido”
From Clube Da Esquina (Odeon) 1972

I think the first time I heard this song was around 2003, when I was on tour with Damon & Naomi in the US. After soundcheck at one of the venues, this song was playing loudly on the PA. It was so cool that I asked the soundman, "What is this song?” The soundman kindly wrote down the name of the song and album on a small piece of paper and handed it to me. When I told Damon about it later, he knew the record and told me more about it. I bought the CD during the tour. The work itself is wonderful, and this song in particular is unique. Lô Borges's singing is great, but Beto Guedes's lead guitar playing is so cool. I suspect the guitarist is using a Maestro FZ-1 or similar model (maybe!). The fuzz tone with a lot of reverb is just brilliant. It reminds me of the sunshine in Brazil. The influence of this guitar is reflected in the song “House Of Glass” from Damon & Naomi's album The Earth Is Blue.

Quicksilver Messenger Service
“Pride Of Man”
From Quicksilver Messenger Service (Capitol) 1968

The first song of theirs that I came across was “Fresh Air”, on the radio. It was when I was 19 years old. I was very impressed by Dino Valenti's unique voice and beautiful piano. I immediately bought their fourth album, Just For Love, which included this song. It was a nice album, but I still didn't realise how great John Cipollina's guitar was.

Years later, after listening to Quicksilver's first album, I finally understood the greatness of Cipolina. The guitar in “Pride Of Man” is particularly wonderful. It's a short guitar solo of about 30 seconds, but the lustre, colour and expressiveness of the sound are all excellent. And I think he is the coolest user of Bigsby tremolo in the world. That's why I was completely knocked out by his brilliant playing. Even now.

When we visited Cleveland during a Damon & Naomi tour, we stopped by the Rock ’N’ Roll Hall of Fame. There was a display of Cipollina's guitar and amp system. I stared at them from every angle and memorised them in my brain (I could confirm that the guitar's nut seemed to have a mirror finish and the Twin Reverb speakers were JBL K-120!). It was a very happy time.

Television
“Little Johnny Jewel”
From The Blow-Up (ROIR) 1982

The two albums they left behind, Marquee Moon and Adventure, had a very complete, unique and beautiful ensemble. I love them both. A little while after listening to them, I got this album released on cassette tape in the early 80s. It is a live recording from 1978, which is called an official bootleg. The quality of the recording is not great, but I can feel the tension and raw enthusiasm of the band, which is in contrast to their studio albums.

I especially liked this performance and listened to it over and over again in my car stereo or in my room. In particular, Tom Verlaine's guitar in the latter half of the song, in the minor chord repetition part, is really great. Perhaps he connected the cable directly from the guitar to the amp with the volume turned up. And he plays and plays and plays the guitar as his emotions take over. I think I have learned a lot from him in improvising, as if the sound is coming directly from every cell to his fingertips at a very high speed.

Wire subscribers can read a 2007 interview with Michio Kurihara and our 2004 cover featured interview with Ghost in our online archive.