Hailing from Osaka and led by Koshiro Hino (YPY, Kakuhan, Boredoms, Mark Fell), goat (jp) has redefined minimalism by prioritising pure percussive interplay over melody—using guitar, bass, drums, and percussion

Without References / Cindy Van Acker finds goat (jp) refining their man-machine discipline into something stark, physical, and quietly overwhelming. Initially composed for Cindy Van Acker’s contemporary dance work, the album feels inseparable from movement. It’s music that exists in the body before it reaches the head. Rhythm is the language here, stripped of ornament and pushed to obsessive precision.

‘Quest’ opens the record with clipped, interlocking patterns that move like a system booting itself up. Each instrument locks into place with surgical focus, creating tension through repetition rather than release. It’s rigid but alive, mechanical yet strangely human. Later, ‘Orin’ stretches that logic across ten hypnotic minutes. Its cycling figures tighten gradually, pulling the listener into a trance where time thins out and detail becomes everything. Nothing explodes, but everything intensifies. On ‘Factory’, the title telegraphs a rhythmic assembly-line feel.

Across the album, goat hover between ritual and control, minimalism and endurance. The music feels engineered, but never cold. Instead, it hums with intent, like motion held under pressure. Without References doesn’t ask for attention. It demands physical surrender and rewards it with total immersion.