Influences and References

Negative Øhio are influenced by a lot of different artists and styles, both in music and in the art world. This article lists some of their biggest influences.

## Artists & Bands

* **Akira Yamaoka** - A Japanese composer, known for his Industrial and Experimental sound work in the *Silent Hill* video game series.
* **Aphex Twin** - An Irish experimental Electronic music producer, who's heavily Industrial song *Come To Daddy* and its horrifying music video especially have been a big influence on the band.
* **Atari Teenage Riot** - A German Industrial Metal/Hardcore Techno band that invented the fusion genre of Digital Hardcore, which mixes Gabber, Hardcore Punk and Metal.
* **Buckethead** - An American Avant-Garde guitarist and composer, known for being one of the greatest guitarists of all time and having released over 300 albums spanning every genre imaginable.
* **Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band** - An American experimental Rock/Jazz Fusion group that is known for their atonality and going against conventional song writing.
* **Cattle Decapitation** - An American Grindcore/Death Metal band that mixes breakneck-fast aggression with satirical lyrics.
* **Daft Punk** - A French House duo known for their experimentation with genre fusions and creative sampling.
* **Death Grips** - An American Avant-Garde Hip-Hop group, mixing rapping with experimental compositions and occasionally Avant-Garde Metal.
* **The Dillinger Escape Plan** - An American Mathcore band known for their chaotic, aggressive and heavy sound.
* **Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention** - An American Prog/Jazz Fusion group known for their comedic and outlandish lyrics.
* **Giraffes? Giraffes!** - An American Math Rock/Experimental Rock duo who are known for their chaotic song structures and dadaistic song titles.
* **iwrestledabearonce** - An American Mathcore/Avant-Garde Metal band whose mix of aggression, humor and genre fusions is a huge influence on the band.
* **King Crimson** - A British Prog and Jazz Fusion group, whose song *21st Century Schizoid Man* with its mix of jazz-y song structures and heaviness has been a big influence on the band.
* **Lasse Marhaug** - Norway's most famous Noise/Avant-Garde artist.
* **Lightning Bolt** - An American Noise Rock/Avant-Garde Metal duo, known for hyper-energetic drums, experimental bass playing and weird voice modifications.
* **Ministry** - An American Industrial Metal band known for mixing heavy riffs, effect-laden vocals and samples, often in songs that are heavily political and/or satirical.
* **Naked City** - A Grindcore side project by Jazz legend John Zorn, mixing Grind with saxophone wailing and avant-garde song structures.
* **Napalm Death** - A British Extreme Metal band that are considered the fathers of Grindcore, as well as being known for their social commentary.
* **Nine Inch Nails** - An American Industrial/Metal/Dark Ambient band that have done a lot of cool stuff like making a sci-fi concept album criticizing US military policies and releasing several albums under the Creative Commons license.
* **NXP** - One of Norway's original Noise musicians, who is a close friend of the band.
* **Shining** - A Norwegian Jazz/Industrial/Black Metal band that have been a huge influence on Negative Øhio's sound with their mix of ear-breaking distortion, brutality and complex improvisation.
* **Strangerous**  - A Norwegian Avant-Garde/Noise/Dark Ambient musician who have made a big splash in the Norwegian Avant-Garde scene, and who is a close friend of the band.
* **Technohead (aka. Greater Than One)** - A British Hardcore Techno group whose hit song *I Wanna Be A Hippy* was Negative Øhio's introduction to Gabber, a genre they would incorporate elements of in several songs.
* **Yoko Ono** - The mother of modern experimental music and Negative Øhio's favorite Beatle.

## Styles & Movements

* **Abstract Expressionism** - An experimental art form started in Germany, but later defined and codified in post-WW2 America, mixing abstract colors and patterns. While they don't agree with some of its anti-political associations, Negative Øhio have been inspired by its visual style and creativity in their album cover designs.
* **Avant-Garde** - A French art movement that focuses on pushing the boundaries of what is considered art or acceptable in polite society. Negative Øhio loves to push against taste and convention to try and push the boundaries of what can be considered Heavy Metal music or good visual design.
* **Collage** - A mix of different unrelated elements blended together into something new. Negative Øhio have used elements of sound collage in some of their more atmospheric songs.
* **Dada** - An European art movement from the early 1900's that focused on nonsense as a form of protest against modern society and capitalism, sometimes described as anti-art.
* **D.I.Y. (Do It Yourself)** - A Punk movement based around home-made art and merch, as well as staying independent from big labels. This ethos has inspired Negative Øhio, even if they might not be able to do absolutely everything on their own due to health and financial issues. The band designs all of their own album covers and merchandize designs, as well as refusing to be on a music label or a member of TONO. They also record all their music at home via low-cost methods and gear, and have released all their music under a Creative Commons license.
* **Grindcore** - A form of Extreme Metal that has been described as Slayer played at double speed. Its mix of Death Metal aggression, Hardcore Punk attitude and Avant-Garde song structures has been a big influence on Negative Øhio's most brutal songs.
* **Heavy Metal** - A music genre and subculture centered around heaviness, brutality and aggression. It can also be incredibly cheesy and campy at times. Negative Øhio are big fans of the genre and love challenging and playing with the conventions of the genre and its imagery.
* **Horror** - A storytelling genre centered around invoking fear and disturbance in the audience. The band are big fans of horror movies, and sometimes incorporates horror elements in their imagery and even their music.
* **Noise** - Music made out of nontraditional means, such as the noise of appliances and machinery, instruments distorted beyond recognition and strange samples.
* **Pop Art** - An international art movement about taking elements of pop culture out of their original context to make a new statement, often with undertones about challenging the definitions of high art. The band has taken inspiration from pop art in their use of song titles, which sometimes reference popular culture in a way to re-frame the original quotes and references into something new, either for comedic effect, satirical reasons or even as a source of horror.
* **Queercore** - A musical movement rooted in LGBTQ+ Punk artists and bands. The band consider themselves part of the LGBTQ+ community and big fans of Punk and Hardcore music.
* **Street Art** - Art made in public spaces, often via tagging and graffiti with satirical undertones. Its vibrant style and messaging have been a big influence for Negative Øhio.
* **Surrealism** - An art movement based around dream logic and bizarre imagery, which later inspired the comedy genre of surreal humor, both of which are big influences for Negative Øhio's music, lyrics and song titles.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/pg/negativeohio/about/?ref=page\_internal