At The End Of Summer
The new psychedelic rock band lead by OVERHANG PARTY’s RINJI FUKUOKA. Live recordings that range from deep song to vivid rock instrumentals to heavy feedback drones.
Alto saxophone
Masahide Tokunaga: alto saxophone. Recorded by Taku Sugimoto at Studio Slubmusic, Tokyo, October 4, 2009. Mastered by Taku Unami. Drawing by Reiko Shioda
A thousand mountains
To start with, we've always commended Japan's Doubtmusic label for the handsome packaging job that each one of their digipack cd releases invariably receives. This one, though, we'd probably be inclined to buy just 'cause of the especially cool cover art alone! Done by one Tomoo Gokita, the cover suggests an arched window in a brightly patterned wall, looking out on (a photo of) some majestic snow-capped alpine mountain (the Matterhorn, is it?). But in front of the "window", the corpse-painted v…
13 & 14 for Guitars
Composed by Taku Sugimoto. Tetuzi Akiyama: guitar. Recorded live at Loop-Line on October 23, 2009. Recorded by Taku Sugimoto. Mastered by Taku Unami. Drawing by Taku Sugimoto.
Improvised Music from Japan 2009
Improvised Music from Japan 2009 takes a look at improvised/experimental music festivals and concert series in Japan. Covered in the book are 33 of the many festival/series events taking place around the country. The articles (some written by the organizers themselves, others based on interviews of the organizers conducted in person or by e-mail) reveal the ideas, aims and feelings of the people on the small improvised/experimental music scene who work tirelessly to hold these events on an ongoi…
Elegy for Native Tongues
Heavy, ominous psychedelic free-improv from Tokyo, Japan. Julian's Cope album of the month . Tetragrammaton is a trio featuring Nobunaga Ken on drums and percussion, Cal Lyall on electronics and guitar, and TOMO on hurdy-gurdy, saxophone and electronics, and have in the past collaborated with members of Zeni Geva, Acid Mothers Temple, Taj Mahal Travellers, and Damo Suzuki from Can. On Elegy For Native Tongues, however, it’s just the main trio at work, displaying a love for high-volume improvised…
Sound Track From Film \"Mabuta No Ura\"
From the one sheet "Sound track collections of BORIS that continues activity. This album puts, listens to the novella from the sound source, & there is a concept where the image flows to the other side of the eyelid of the person who read. Chaos in the silence that can be heard w/the feedback noise & fuzz sounds & the rhythm, drone, spacey & chill out, etc. That do the sequence minimal stimulate this album listener's imagination." Umm, yeah. No real interpretation here. If you don't know BORIS, …
Amalgamation
Number seven on the Japrocksampler Top 50, available again for the first time in over a decade! This preposterous piece of psychedelic avant-jazz sounds like the work of aliens, each with only one foot in our universe. Propelled by cacophonous brassy blasts, volleys of machine-gunning, ecstatically 'Light Fantastic' rhythms and moments of Teo Macero-style 'Mixing Concrète' (during which the whole track becomes consumed by waves of new sound); the result is the most singular mash-up of inappropri…
The Last Recording
Final solo alto sax blasting from the late legendary Japanese underground hero Kaoru Abe. Abe was an inspiration to free/jazz and Japanese noise lovers world-wide, lived a fast and hard life and ripped his guts inside out on each and every of his many releases. Extreme music for those who need it.
kaitai teki kohkan
Two of the most relentless and uncompromising artists from the 70s free jazz scene in Japan in a full-on assault. Totally essential
Archive 1
AMAZING RELEASE!! Between 1977-1978 Japanese improvising guitarist Masayuki Takayanagi performed with his "New Direction Unit" in a series of concerts of different formats (trio, quartet, quintet, sextet, &c). This "Archive" box set included the recordings of 5 concerts in Japan: the "another situtation" concert at Purcinera and "Regular Concerts" from Jean Jean in Shibuya. Comprised of live improvisations, this beautifully packaged box also has a booklet with details on the concerts, though mos…
Music For Voice, Koto And Shamisen
As part of its Japan focus the 1999 Biennial Festival for New Music in Hannover also presented Toshio Hosokawa's exploration into the music of his "musical ancestors." This CD was recorded live during the performance and includes three works from the 17th and 19th centuries. Chidori no kyoku by Yoshizawa kengyô II (1808-1872) is based on the 31-syllable poems of the classical poetry anthology Kokin wakashû (10th century), so-called waka poems; chidori is the Japanese plover, whose calls have bee…
the gun
Namba Jazz is the improvisation duet by Yoshigaki Yasuhiro (drums, percussion) and Yamamoto Seiichi (guitar, misc.). "Namba" of Namba Jazz means not an area in Osaka but means Namba walking. And "Jazz" of Namba Jazz is not jazz but is actually Jazu.Namba Jazz has performed gigs 4 times in Japan. This CD is consisted great 10 tunes what selected in 3 gigs. The guitar playing by Yamamoto has a wide variety of the sound. He keeps a spark of genius and has never sounds the cliche of improvisation. H…
Blood
CD audio + DVD video (NTSC / Region All). 'This trio was formed by Imai Kazuo (guitar), Suzuki Manabu (handmade electronics), and Ito Atsuhiro (optron) in July, 2005. I'm using a controllable instrument along with uncontrollable electronic sound devices that may make the music somewhat difficult to remain stable, yet its context of where I am now is the one that is similar to jazz'. Imai Kazuo, from linernotes. Imai Kazuo is the one and only graduate of Takayanagi Masayuki's private guitar scho…
Blacksheep
Yoshida Ryuichi (baritone sax), Goto Atsushi (trombone) and Suga Dairo (piano). 'Blacksheep is a trio group, consisting of Yoshida Ryuichi (baritone sax player in Shibusashirazu Orchestra, Fujii Satoko Orchestra, etc.), Goto Atsushi (trombone player in 'Tokyo Out', 'Denki Slime', etc.) and Suga Dairo (pianist in Shibusashirazu Orchestra, 'Real Blue', etc.). Sometime very beautiful, sometime intense improvisation and sometime humoresque and very serious, this, their first work is made up of prote…
plays the ENKA -woodwind solo
Enka is a style of Japanese popular song roughly corresponding to American blues and country music, French chanson and Italian canzone. The sound of enka is deeply rooted in the souls of Japanese people, and famous enka songs continue to be sung and hummed wherever this music exists.In this album, Umezu's exceptional sensitivity and taste combine with the "world of enka," swirl and eddy, and explode before our eyes. This music has excellent circulation; it leaps with energy. Here, Japan has crea…
Dots
One of their miraculous duo result is their first CD "Territory" (dmf-112, 2006). This work, "DOTS" is even more overpowering, speed, ramified rhythm, edits, and so on. First, they recorded their improvised music in studio, then they overdubbed various sounds, edited the materials and mixed different effects into the tunes. This is the music for the prog rock, math rock, post rock fans. Dense and Fiery !
Empty Can Street Orchestra
latest album by Nobuo Yamada, two tracks come with deserted metal junks by dragging lots of empty cans. track-1 is organic and isolated time passing at underground mining ruin. its metal junks are mixed with environmental ambience at the place purely by chance. track-2 is catching a raw and cold field recorded at a tunnel, unexpected joints of car and road, winds or so on. comes with handmade sleeve, a crushed can is pasted on front cover. …
...Of Dogstarman
1998 release ; duo set by incapacitants’ fumio kosakai & ikuro takahashi “based on stan brakhage movie "dog star man"” ...a single, monolithic piece of itinerant synthesis, never quite getting into harsh noise realms, instead a continuous ghostly blur of steely electronics ... something of a neglected classic by now ...
Hannover Interruption
This album finds Merzbow in full-on, harsh-noise mode, at least at first listen. The more one becomes acclimated to the sound, the more layers of activity emerge: electric groans and roars, bird-call-like feedback, moog sirens, percussive analog static, thousands of pots and pans falling down a hill, even the occasional vocal. It's this artful layering of sound (among other things) that separates Merzbow from some jag-off that just turns on a noise generator and walks away. 1 copy available