WADA, YOSHI Off The Wall (EM Records / Omega Point) cd 21.00
We have to thank Japan's EM Records - actually, we've been doing that a lot lately - but this time we have to thank 'em for turning us on to the celestial soundworlds of dronologist Yoshi Wada. If you've read our reviews of EM's two previous Wada reissues, you know he's a Japanese sculptor/composer who made his way to New York City in the late '60s, delving into the Fluxus conceptual art movement and hanging out with folks like pioneering minimalist LaMonte Young. In 1982, Wada issued an LP entitled Lament For The Rise And Fall Of Elephantine Crocodile, featuring his voice and homebuilt instruments. When it was reissued on EM last year, we were bowled over by its unique deep drone soundings. EM's second Wada reissue, The Appointed Cloud, from 1987, was equally amazing.
Happily, there's more Wada releases in the vaults than we'd thought. Now EM has brought out a cd version this one, Off The Wall, which was originally released on vinyl in 1985 by the German free improv label FMP. Dubbed a "majestic minimalist monsterpiece" by EM, it consists of two long tracks (over twenty minutes each), a part one and part two of the same performance, which features the bagpipe blowing of Yoshi Wada and colleague Wayne Hankin, along with the "adapted organ" (pipe organ put together by Wada) played by Marilyn Bogerd, and the percussion of Andreas Schmidt-Neri.
EM have also added a bonus cut - this third (and even longer than either of the others, at 27:14) track, "Die Konsonanten Pfeifen", was recorded in Berlin in 1983 and originally issued as a cassette. Again, Wada and Hankin play the bagpipes, this time accompanied by percussion (tympani, tam tam, and cymbal) from one Kevin Newhoff, which kicks in, with a hiccup, near about the halfway point, providing steady, ominous pulsations that bring to mind some of the portentous mood of Strauss's "Also Sprach Zarathustra".
Bagpipes, that's right, this is bagpipe music. But it doesn't sound much like Scotland's The Black Watch. Maybe if the Royal Highland Regiment were marching to 20th century avant-classical. Keening endlessly, the twin bagpipes of Wada and Hankin weave exotic-sounding tones and overtones together in slowly shifting, shimmering patterns, that seem to keep one step head of your sensory apparatus, so that you realize there's something new going on in the piece only after you've been hearing it already for a few moments. The effect of these modulations is quite mesmeric, almost meditative, New Age with an edge, like Phill Niblock meets Terry Riley, taken to a Far Eastern extreme. The multiple instrumental voices blend into one total drone, yet upon examination each has its own wending and winding part to play. The usual repetition of "minimalist" music isn't so mechanically evident here, Wada's drones floating high into the expanses of space, combining with the rumbling earth-bound drums to achieve a sort of ceremonial aspect and dramatic impact.
Yes, thank you EM! This is packaged in the usual excellent EM fashion, in a tri-fold sleeve with original liner notes in both English and Japanese translation, also b&w photographs, and a full-color reproduction of the original graphic score for "Off The Wall".
MPEG Stream: "Off The Wall I"
MPEG Stream: "Die Konsonanten Pfeifen"

WADA, YOSHI The Appointed Cloud (EM Records) cd 21.00
In reality, this was recorded live at the Great Hall of New York Hall of Science in New York, November 8th 1987. But listening to it, you could easily imagine it being part of some mysterious & portentous religious ritual, enacted high on the slopes of some vast Himalayan mountain by horn-blowing, drum-beating Tibetan monks... these monks perhaps being part of an aktion under the direction of dramatic drone artist Hermann Nitsch. Seriously. Well it's not Nitsch, it's Yoshi Wada, and there were no monks involved, but we're sure it was an impressive performance to witness in its own right. Certainly to hear, which thanks to EM Records, we all now can.
This is the sequel to EM's previous reissue, some months ago, of Yoshi Wada's first album, Lament For The Rise And Fall Of Elephantine Crocodile. While that 1982 LP may have more rare record collector cachet, and be more historically significant chronologically speaking, we have to say that this one is at least as amazing. As we explained in our review of Lament, Wada is a Japanese visual artist and sound sculptor who relocated to New York in the '60s, where he aligned himself with the Fluxus conceptual art movement and definitely got deep into dronology. (He now lives in San Francisco, and for more information on his career, check out the June '08 issue of The Wire, #292, which features an interview with Wada conducted by AQ's own Jim Haynes.)
The Appointed Cloud, a composition/sound installation "designed specifically for the acoustics of the cobalt blue cathedral of the Great Hall", utilized a massive Wada-designed soundmaking assemblage controlled by a computer interface, this unusual "pipe organ" constructed from compressed-air powered pipes, a suspended 20 foot long sheet of metal, and a steam pipe gong. In addition, Wada and the other musicians involved play timpani, tam tam, sirens, and a trio of keening bagpipes. All this in the majestic, modernistic stained-glass setting of the Great Hall.
As alluded to above, this is somewhat suggestive of Buddhist ritual, and reminds us of Nitsch's large-scale symphonics as well. Rather than give a minute by minute play by play of this piece's hour-long duration, we'd encourage you to experience it for yourself. Experience the thundering drum vibrations, the percussive rattle, the quiet gentle tones and hushed rustle that erupt into dense bagpiping drone squeals and resonating rumble... it's grand and gorgeous.
Physically this cd reish is up to EM's usual high standards, packaged in a gatefold sleeve with color photos, a reduced reproduction of the piece's graphic score, liner notes by Wada as well as the original program notes, in both English and Japanese. Soundwise, it's also up there with that first Wada disc among our favorite stuff that EM has yet released -- in other words, highly recommended!! Even moreso for those especially dronologically and/or 20th century classically inclined.
MPEG Stream: "excerpt 1"
MPEG Stream: "excerpt 2"

WATA / AI ASO She's So Heavy (DIW Phalanx) 7"+book 32.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We noticed we still had a handful of these Boris rarities, and saw some popping up on eBay so we figured we would relist them in case anyone was still in the market for a pricey, exquistely designed 7" with lots of glamorous photos of Wata from Boris!!!
Here's our review from when we listed these a while back:
We took pre-orders on this ultra limited Boris rarity, but we managed to get a handful of extra copies, so for those folks who forgot to preorder, or folks who are only hearing about this now, here's your chance (however brief) to nab one of theseÉ
As with all Boris related stuff, this 7" photo book combo looks gorgeous. A 7"x7" softcover book, the cover a thick textured cream colored paper, the title embossed on the front cover, wrapped in a full color vellum obi, the text printed in metallic silver, with color photos of Wata from Boris and the members of the band sharing the split, Ai Aso. The book itself is nothing but glamour shots of the various women, full body shots, close ups of their faces, very fashion magazine looking, the pictures slightly distressed, the women posed in front of washed out colored backdrops. Strange, but heck, the pictures are quite nice, and the women are of course quite lovely, so who can complain.
But here is a 7", and presumably, that's the main reason to pick this up (right?), it features Wata and Ai Aso each doing a cover, Ai Aso cover King Crimson's "Islands" and Wata covers Masashi Kitamura's "Angel" which we had never heard (or heard of) before.
Ai Aso take "Islands" and let it unfurl softly and sweetly, a blissy dreamy drift, with hushed vocals over shimmering guitars, the drums are the focal point, way up in the mix and driving the song, almost martial at times, while at others shuffling along side the glimmering guitars. Very skeletal, but strangely lush at the same time and really quite pretty.
Don't let the fact that the flipside is credited to Wata fool you, as the lineup is essentially all of Boris, AND Michio Kurihara. So it's basically the Rainbow lineup, with the addition of some other guy playing Mellotron! The track is gentle and tranquil, a soft focus psych folk, the guitars are simply strummed, the vocals and sweet and ethereal, the percussion is essentially just a tambourine, that is until the very end, when the band launch into a slow burning psychedelic freakout, not sure if it's Wata or Kurihara, but the guitar soars majestically, howling and screeching, wailing wildly over the dreamy strum underneath. Definitely sounds like it could have come from the same sessions that produced Rainbow, which is most definitely not a bad thing.
LIMITED TO 1500 COPIES.

WATERFORM Water Town (Childisc) cd 18.98

WELLS, BILL & MAHER SHALAL HASH BAZ Osaka Bridge (Karaoke Kalk) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
For a Scottish so-called jazz pianist, Bill Wells sure has lots of indie-rock cred, having had help at times in making his dreamy, mellow music from members of Belle and Sebastian and The Pastels, fellow Glaswegians to be sure. But with this new Osaka Bridge album he taps into the willfully naive soundworld of one of our very favorite underground Japanese psych-pop ensembles, the one and only Maher Shalal Hash Baz, teaming up with them presumably thanks to their shared connection with The Pastels' Geographic label.
The music here is mostly written by Wells, but when filtered through the playing of his Japanese friends, it sounds so much like theirs. MSHB's childlike, almost Shaggsy musicianship semi-struggles playfully with Wells' compositions, making each track all the more beautiful for its fragility and simplicity of execution. Their approach, however lacking in musical chops, is perfect for what we know of Wells' penchant for melodious sound-sketches. In collaboration with MSHB, this is slow, languid, rainy day music... even the poppiest moments have a bittersweet aura. MSHB's trademark wavering horns are in full not-quite-jazz mode, and some of this sort of sounds like a '60s or '70 TV show theme music in spots, like Love American Style or a sitcom or something -- but that's not a diss, it's really pretty. Even prettier, are the tracks featuring beautiful, sad singing from Reiko Kudo, wife of MSHB leader Tori Kudo. Exquisite.
MPEG Stream: "Liquorice Tics"
MPEG Stream: "Time Takes Me So Back"

WHITE STATIC DEMON Apparitions (Utech) cd 14.98
You would think Justin Broadrick had enough going on, playing in Jesu, Pale Sketcher, Final, Grey Machine, Blood Of Heroes, running his Avalanche label, but apparently there's always time for more, not that we're complaining, we're always up for more of Broadrick's noise, and noise is precisely what we get from his White Static Demon, a power electronics powerhouse, that tempers full bore white heat hiss with crumbling textures and dark melodic drones.
Two 20+ minute tracks, the first, a warped dronescape of processed electronic whirs and shimmers, pulsing and throbbing, a looped blur of gradually intensifying buzz drenched howl, underpinned by deep glitchy dubbed out thrums, before finally exploding into a super nova of Merzbowian white noise, a cascading wall of blinding skree and blown out crunch, but thankfully, this is no one dimensional noise record, instead, over the course of the rest of the track, the sound slips from superdistorted in-the-red buzz, to woozy weirdly melodic feedback drenched drift, to muted smoldering glitched out pulse, to tangled murky minimal click and shimmer, to corrosive hazy dronedirge crumble. And that's just the first track.
Number two also begins hushed and textural, a swirling muted convergence of various strands of glitch and crunch and rumble and whir, gradually building, the sound getting filthier and crustier, a wave of blackened grinding noise, underpinned by strange almost sci-fi sounding synth melodies, and unlike the first track, this one doesn't let up, it definitely cycles through various permutations of blown out buzz and caustic white noise, but it's pretty dense and intense, flitting from burnished and blackened to spectral and effulgent, total head splitting blasts of in-the-red upper register skree, colliding with avalanches of damaged low end, all wrapped in sheets of sinister hiss and sent careening into the heart of the sun, the sound a flash of deafening and blinding white light and sound, laced with barely there bits of melody, but for the most part, a serious planet busting, magnitude 10 burst of sheer electronic power.
Phew! Brutal, intense, heavy and noisy, and pretty fucking awesome, just maybe not for Broadrick dabblers, this one's most definitely for the iron eared, the stern of sonic constitution, and the power electronic elite!
MPEG Stream: "Endless Vacuum"
MPEG Stream: "Unforgiving Eidolon"

WORLD HERITAGE, THE Invitation To World Heritage (Magaibutsu) dvd + cd 17.98
Another Yoshida prog project!

WORLD STANDARD Jump For Joy (Daisyworld) cd 32.00
World Standard is a long running "ambient acoustic" project dedicated to the "American primitive spirit" produced by YMO founder Haruomi Hosono and run by Soichiro Suzuki. Windy didn't like this one as much as the last one, which was more sort of dreamy electronica. Volume three utilises guitar, piano, organ, glockenspiel, pedal steel, fiddle, banjo, euphonium, trumpet, saw, ukelele and more. They cover Albert Ayler's 'Ghosts' as well as a handful of 'traditionals'. Not sure how the last 'electronica' record necessarily paid tribute to the primitive American spirit, but this one sure does. The tunes are languid and dreamy, instruments sound warm and gauzy, with summery, back porch melodies and warm swells. Tentatively plucked guitar and loping horns, funereal but sort of hopeful at the same time. World Standard have definitely captured that 'old timey' sound. Think Souled American, Scott Tuma, Calexico, Orso, but with a brass band, some chirping birds, a few electronic tweaks here and there, a flat top barge floating lazily downstream, all day to leisurely strum and pluck and bow, not a cloud in the sky and not a care in the world.
RealAudio clip: "Crazy Crazy Crazy"
RealAudio clip: "Lotus Love"
RealAudio clip: "To A Wild Rose"
RealAudio clip: "Allegria Boricua Symphony"

WRIGHT, PETER Pretty Mushroom Clouds (aRCHIVE) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We've raved about New Zealander Peter Wright in the past, numerous times, we've even now that we check back at past reviews, raved ABOUT raving about Peter Wright, but we really have no choice now but to do it again. For someone as prolific, and as talented as Wright, he seems to continually to fly well beneath the hipster radar.
Which is maybe good for us, but at the same time, it's hard not to root for someone who seems to effortlessly conjure up such beautiful sounds. But the thing is, we KNOW it's not effortless. The world is filled with folks who have a microphone and some effects, and think they can be soundscapers, field recordists, ARTISTS. And while that sort of spirit is to be applauded, the truth of the matter is, just like with anything, flying a jet, swimming the English Channel, playing the trumpet, racing Formula 1's, some people are just more talented than others. And Wright is just about as talented as they come.
Weaving field recordings into longform drones, creating soundscapes from found sounds and processed guitars, Wright manages to create dreamlike expanses of sonic wonder.
Take the first track here, the title track, it's hard not to imagine Pretty Little Mushroom Clouds. The sounds of birds, and wind, maybe branches rubbing against each other in the distance, while all around these sounds of nature, deep buzzing swells ebb and flow, dark, slightly ominous melodies, swell and recede, a super minimal pulse, a gorgeous cloud of shimmer drifting across verdant hills and blue blue sky. You can almost imagine, lush rolling hills, dotted with wildflowers, cute little houses, scattered copses of trees, birds soaring in the sky, while way off in the distance, huge black mushroom clouds blossom in the sky, but from here, they just look beautiful, the music capturing that moment before everything is turned to ash, a brief vacuum, where even the vilest of objects is transformed into a vivid picturesque sonic snapshot.
Over the rest of the record, the field recordings are much more subtle, relying more on the processed instrumentation, guitars are ground into muted walls reverberating buzz, rife with disembodied melodies, streaks of high end and bits of rumbling drone, some tracks are massive and pitched down, the sound of drifting beneath miles of ice in the Arctic Circle, everything glowing some unearthly blue, all the sounds muted and warbled, others are nearly ebullient, like the perfectly titled "The Devil Wears Sunroof", which from the sound of it we can only assume is a nod to Matthew Bower and his Ur-drone unit, all glistening high end shimmer, and long stretches of buzzing upper register guitar. The final track finds Wright taking all of his various sounds and assembling them into a super hypnotic, strangely heavy looped take on, well, Loop actually, a repeated riff, a static groove, totally mesmerizing and space-y, eventually building to a full on blast of almost Japanoise, before petering out, leaving just the sound of an airport terminal or a train station, or a huge sparsely filled performance space as it's revealed to be, when the crowd finally offers up some applause, for what may have been a live performance, or may have been just a random bit of live crowd sound sampled and woven into Wright's mysterious sonic sprawl.
As always, amazing packaging from aRCHIVE. Six panel full color glossy gatefold, the cd affixed to a nub on the middle panel, while around the jacket, an outer sleeve of printed vellum. Super nice.
Limited to 500 copies, single one time pressing.
MPEG Stream: "Pretty Mushroom Clouds"
MPEG Stream: "The Devil Wears Sunroof"

WRK s/t (V2 Archief) cd 15.98
A collaborative effort between likeminded Japanese hyperminimalists Toshiya Tsunoda, Hiroyuki Iida, Jiro Shimizu, and m/s is an exercise in persistance, as pure tone sine-waves extend unwaveringly, high-speed digital glitch manipulation tumbles slowly into low-end rumbles, and speak-n-spell collages prove to be quite unnerving.

XENAKIS, IANNIS Persepolis + Remixes Edition 1 (Asphodel) 2cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
One of legendary 20th century new music composer Iannis Xenakis' most heralded works, "Persepolis" is here remixed by some of today's most adventurous musicians. Though the liner notes clumsily attempt some high brow hoo-ha internationalist theory about why the chosen remixers are appropriate for this project -- "Creative modernism is left with choosing between authoritarianism and religion. Hence, the inclusion of a second disc of remixes..." (hence? huh?) -- the obvious reason why these remixers appear is because, like Xenakis, they manipulate noise, musique concrete, and take experimental music to conceptual and sonic extremes. It makes aural sense; don't give me political wish-wash. Anyway, here's what we've written about Persepolis, which is on the first disc here:
Attention all you avantgarde electronic music fans! Important reissue alert! Iannis Xenakis' "Persepolis" was originally commissioned in 1971 as large-scale sound installation for the Shiraz-Persepolis Festival of the Arts in Iran. "Persepolis" -- Xenakis' longest electro-acoustic composition -- originally involved 8 channels of dense electro-acoustic material broadcast through the vast complex of the ruined Palaces of Persepolis along with a massive display of arclights, fireworks, and bonfires. Xenakis arranges slow tectonic rumbles and rough granular trebliness with extended passages of what could have been the bowed metal of Organum if Jackman et. al. were tumbling down a flight of stairs... "Persepolis" engages the visceral and the physical in a way that no other academic / musique concrete / electro-acoustic / minimalist piece has ever done before. It's frightening how powerful this piece of music is, even to one familiar with more recent massive electronic displays by MB, Merzbow, and Organum.
The remixers include: Ryoji Ikeda, Zbigniew Karkowski, Otomo Yoshihide, Francisco Lopez, Antimatter, Merzbow, Laminar, Ulf Lanheinrich, and more. A veritable noise fest. Construction site rumblings. Very difficult listening. If nothing else, this is a perfect introductory sampler of not only Xenakis but also some of AQ's favorite experimentalists. Nice price -- two discs for the price of one.
RealAudio clip: "Persepolis (Ryoji Ikeda remix)"
RealAudio clip: "Persepolis (Merzbow remix)"

XINLISUPREME Murder License (Fat Cat) cd 11.98
Gosh, somebody must have convinced wall-of-sound Japanese "noise-pop" duo Xinlisupreme that their last album "Tomorrow Never Comes" wasn't noisy enough. 'Cause though we'd not have thought it possible, it seems they've upped the mayhem quotient here, on this 7-track followup! Heavily distorted, uh, distortion, with pretty little melodies and beats buried beneath. An extreme electronic blend of My Bloody Valentine, Digital Hardcore, DJ Scud, Merzbow, and stuff like by these feedback-lovin' popsters. We think this is quite nice, though for some that word might seem strange in context of Xinlisupreme's up-front loudness and chaos. Recommended.
RealAudio clip: "Murder License"
RealAudio clip: "Front Of You"

XRATEDX / ZENI GEVA (Pandemonium) 7" 3.99
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
ZG: Japanese guttural proto metal sludge.
XrX: Noisey arythmic industrial tinged french noise rock.

YAMAMOTO, SEIICHI Baptism (Tzadik) cd 16.98
Here's the second offering on John Zorn's Tzadik label from Japan's Seiichi Yamamoto, famed guitarist for the Boredoms and Omoide Hatoba. For some reason the blurb on this disc's obi strip says this is Yamamoto's first ever solo guitar recording, but if you've got his NOA 2 solo album on Alchemy you've already heard a disc of his unaccompanied six-string improvs. However, Baptism's obi is quite correct in referencing Derek Bailey and Fred Frith (and Joseph Spence too) in regard to the influences on Yamamoto's avant-garde electric and acoustic guitar playing here. Rather than freaking out on a stage with big amps and lots of effects like he used to do in Boredoms, what Yamamoto is doing here sounds like he's sitting in a chair, bent over his instrument, carefully coaxing from it his chosen notes and near-notes. It's pensive, sometimes quite pretty, and always a little abstract and unpredictable. While there's gotta be a lot of improvisation involved, certain of the tracks were probably written and rehearsed, and I think he works with some overdubs (or loops) to multitrack his playing on occasion. Overall, experimental but not abrasive. I wouldn't mind relaxing on the sofa with a cup of tea some afternoon while Yamamoto sketches out these lovely instrumentals.
MPEG Stream: "Humming"
MPEG Stream: "Step"

YAMAMOTO, SEIICHI Crown of Fuzzy Groove (P-Vine) cd 22.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
After his two "NOA" albums of studio and live guitar noise improv for the Alchemy label, Seiichi Yamamoto (you know him as a key member of such bands as the Boredoms, Omoide Hatoba, and Rovo, of course!) now offers up a "proper" solo album of instrumental, electronic groove-based songs. Or shall we say "songs". Knowing Mr. Yamamoto, things aren't in any way normal. Already heading this direction with Rovo, Yamamoto has unleashed his inner Bill Laswell to craft an ambient, trancey album that's not noisy, but full of noises. Flanging effects and skittering percussion lead us into happy, mellow electro hippy jams, not unlike recent Boredoms (aka Voordoms) on E, all moonlight and flowers and smiling cartoon fish splashing translucent in the air. Maybe this melodic, organic, techno-ish music won't be to the liking of old Boredoms fans into their harder, spazzier stuff, but that's not Yamamoto's concern here. He's just getting his fuzzy groove on.
RealAudio clip: "Terminal Mind"
RealAudio clip: "Mantral"

YAMAMOTO, SEIICHI NOA (Alchemy) cd 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Solo album from Omoide Hatoba/Boredoms guitarist.

YAMAMOTO, SEIICHI NOA 2 (Alchemy) cd 21.00
Probably one of the most out-of-the-ordinary releases from Alchemy (known for their consistent output of harsh, abrasive music) is this equally unusual turn from Osaka's Seiichi Yamamoto (guitarist for Boredoms as well as leader of numerous eclectic acts, most notably Omoide Hatoba). NOA 2, instrumentation-wise, is just Yamamoto on guitar -- untreated, and untextured (read: no overdubs), quite the polar opposite of his previous solo effort, NOA, which was full of texture, noise and dynamics. Not to say there are no dynamics here (or noise), as NOA 2 starts off as minimal abstraction a la Derek Bailey -- angular, nontraditional playing style with much restraint and control. The disc progresses through each track to reveal more of the Yamamoto we've become familiar with over the years: free "jazz" freakouts reminiscent of Sonny Sharrock or more accurately, the noise breaks heard on classic Boredoms records like Soul Discharge or Pop Tatari! Where Yamamoto's first NOA disc seemed like the result of much studio crafting, this one sounds more like an evening's improv session. At times sparse, at times speedy, definitely one for "out" guitar fans into the more abstract works of Bailey, Kevin Drumm, Masayuki Takayanagi, Brian Ruryk, that sort of thing.
RealAudio clip: "#12"

YAMAMOTO, SEIICHI Nu Frequency (Tzadik) cd 16.98
The fourth solo album from the undeniably talented and deniably normal Boredoms guitarist (also of Omoide Hatoba, Rovo, etc.). There's less "fuzzy groove" than his last album, more of the abstract textural noisescapes and improv guitarisms heard on his first two solo discs on Alchemy, though with a distinctly "cool" vibe, jazzier than those other records for sure. Definitely makes sense it's on Tzadik, it's as much downtown New York as downtown Osaka. It's a varied menu of avant-delicacies from glitchy gamelan-like tones (generated with guitar?) n' skittery percussion to jazz bass and high-pitched electronics, all sorts of stuff goin' on -- some of it quite pretty. Far from Boredoms insanity/energy however. A nice album, though it probably can (and will) be safely overlooked by those without already a shelf full of Boredoms/Zorn/Tzadik stuff, though you'll never know what you might be missing...
MPEG Stream: "Seed"

YAMAMOTO, TATSUHISA & MUNEOMI SENJU A Thousand Mountains (Doubtmusic) cd 24.00
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 visage of King Diamond pokes up unexpectedly, screaming at you... WITH, IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY, A MINIATURE HEAD IN HIS MOUTH. Quite confusionally cool, eh? But for what sort of music could this art be at all appropriate? Well, why not an electronics-augmented Japanese drums duo featuring someone who once played in the Boredoms/Vooredoms?! 'Cause that's what this is, with a vengeance.
Erstwhile Boredom Muneomi Senju (drums, percussion, electronics) teams up with Tasuhisa Yamamoto (drums, metals, percussion, gong, odaiko drums) for 7 tracks of mostly percussion-only soundscapery, from "primitive groove" to "wall of onkyo" in style, according to Doubtmusic's description, which also cites poly-rhythms and harmonic overtones as things you'll hear here, and we don't doubt it, these tracks are widely varied and always intriguing, certainly bizarre enough at times to merit the colorful, epic high weirdness of that awesome album cover art!
The likes of "Foggy In Aquarium" and "Coral Flirtation" feature calm, complex layers of percussive playing, free-jazzy but not really free, with lots of bells and chimes and liquid tricklings... tinklings and twinklings... lovely stuff! THEN, there's the erratic and effected thwap-and-snap of "Scattered Devils". Zany, zappy drum hits and other bits that sound sampled from some futuristic Carl Stalling cartoon score, cut-and-pasted with slaphappy abandon together with electronic textures, ultimately funking it up in fractured, spastic fashion that reminds us of another recent Doubtmusic release, Sim + Otomo's Monte Alto Estate. Perhaps 'cause this track was further remixed by guest producer Yuta Segawa, it's the most "computery" sounding cut on here, whereas the rest of this disc comes off as much more organic, without all that obvious digital tomfoolery (cool though we think it is). Organic, AND trancelike, such as with the ritualistic rainfall pitter patter percussion, swirling and circling, of "Correspon-dance", or the endless drum-roll and cymbal-shimmer of the 8 minute plus "Fricative Lights" - very Boredoms Super Rootsy, that one!
Now as we've always said, about the only "drum circle" we can stand is one that involves the Boredoms. But two drummers does not a drum circle make AND there's a Boredoms connection both sound- and personnel-wise here. So unless you HATE percussion, this is definitely an out-there experiment in rhythm(z) to check out. Speaking of drum circles, opener "Chronoscope Fatigue" and closer "Chronoscope Fatigue Variation" are the closest this duo come to that sort of thing here, and that's not that close, unless you're familiar with drum circles that make a practice of all falling down the stairs while they're jamming...
MPEG Stream: "Coral Flirtation"
MPEG Stream: "Scattered Devils"
MPEG Stream: "Fricative Lights"

YAMANTAKA, EYE Artist Music Journal, Edition 12 (Soundscreen Design) book 13.98
Wow. We're so stoked on this, a gorgeous book of artwork from Boredoms bandleader Eye Yamantaka, whose eyepoppingly colorful collages and multimedia art, as represented on most Boredoms and related releases, we have always loved.
So this is total eyecandy for us Eye fans, a 24 page, 8" x 8" softcover, saddle stitched book featuring not covers for records Eye has released (which is what we thought it was going to be), but actually all artwork for dozens of insane IMAGINARY bands (and formats!) he made up just for this project! We love it.
Each page features 2 or 3 different "releases", with both sleeve art and the disc itself pictured. So for instance there's Sunarchy's "Volume" 12" picture disc, Satori Disco's "Groovy1" 10" water blue disc, and Crackederic's "Yellp", which claims to be a 22 inch "Balloon disc". Yeah, that's right, some of them get really unlikely or impossible. How about Armed LyF's "Junk", a 12" rasta color no centerhole disc? Or VhV's "Steamed Bun" release, a 4" bun on 12" black disc? Or Age "2", supposedly a 1 inch black disc? And then there's Googloom's "Gog In" googles shape disc (what looks like two 7"s melted together side by side) and Googloom's "Gog Out", a 2" broken disc! Those aren't even the craziest ones.
In addition to enjoying the visuals, this of course puts our imaginations into overdrive wishing we could HEAR these bands too, wondering what they sound like. Some of them provide clues, we know that Donoid's 12" contains a Wang Chung cover ("Everybody Dub Tonight"), while D.A.M.'s "Don't Ask Me" 7" is apparently "South Fla. Hardcore", hence the mohawked skater depicted on the sleeve.
This is Number 12 in a series of music-related art and design "journals", so we might have to get some of the earlier entries in as well, in fact there's a Daniel Higgs one that's pretty cool (of course) and we do have a couple of those in stock. All the journals in the series are packaged in 10" record sleeves, as well. Super cool.

YAMASH'TA, STOMU Red Buddha (Spalax) cd 14.98

YAMASHTA'S, STOMU RED BUDDHA THEATRE The Man From The East (Esoteric) cd 21.00
Japanese early '70s fusion, a good one.

YAMASHTA, STOMU & COME TO THE EDGE Floating Music (Esoteric) cd 21.00
Japanese early '70s fusion, another good one.

YAMASUKI SINGERS, THE Le Monde Fabuleux Des (Finders Keepers) cd 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Everytime we've played this delicious reissue in the store, people have eagerly inquired, "Oooh, what's this?!" If you dig music that gleefully jumps boundaries and melts together genres with whimsical abandon (but NOT in the current irony-sodden, just-fuckin'-around fashion) -- in this case, a cross-cultural funneling in on the sounds of French Ye Ye Girl pop, far-out Japanese psych and prog influences, some almost-Carpenters level sing-song-y glorious pop, and assorted other vintage Euro-funkiness -- well then, Le Monde Fabuleux Des Yamasuki is for YOU!
Lovingly mastered from the original tapes by one of the original producers Monsieur Jean Kluger, this is the first time these recordings have been released on cd. Apparently there was originally one album and two singles released under the name The Yamasuki Singers on the French label Biram back in 1971. Needless to say, they've been next to impossible to find for years. If you're eager to get the skinny on Yamasuki, the project's lively history is printed in English in the liner notes, but there's also an added bonus on the back page of the booklet. If your French comprehension is any good, you can find out how to do the dance moves -- le salut, la joie, la peur, la grace, le combat, attaque (translation of this move's description: one assumes karate positions while shouting "caa ooh") and hara kiri!
By today's standards, you might find some of the 'oriental' (ahem, Asian) elements downright corny (the first song begins with a gong, and songs are introduced by a black-belt judo master!), but the sheer exuberance of the performances sweeps away any possibility of scowling criticisms. The sticker on the front proclaims "A fuzzed-out-educational-multi-cultural psych-rock-opera from 1971. Proto-psychedelic hip-hop with overweight drum beats and basslines!" Who's gonna argue with that?! Not us, we particularly appreciate the record label's use of the word "overweight". Yeah, we can hear what they're gettin' at -- the rhythm section is pretty thumpin' and hefty -- but it still made us giggle. Anyways, not to be super nit-picky but although this is indeed a conceptual album, after reading the liner notes we deduced that it's not so much a 'rock opera' per se, but more like a dance performance with lots of choral accompaniments. So who was behind all of this wonderful madness? Two French producer/composers, the aforementioned Kluger and Daniel Vangarde... and various children's choirs singing in Japanese. Ultra bizarre, campy, freaky and outrageous (again, even by today's standards!), we've got a sneaking suspicion that Ron and Russell Mael of Sparks probably saw/heard Yamasuki 'cause there sure are some striking resemblances with their own deliriously fantastic Kimono My House album that came out a few years later in 1974. You might find it sorta Zappa-ish too. Heck, it even spawned a dance move, "The Yamasuki"! Oh yeah, and if the fifth song "AIEAOA" sounds oddly familiar, you might recognize it as a song covered by Bananarama. Apparently the gals heard a version recorded by a band from Zaire (!), and loved it so much that they covered the cover "Aie A Mwana" and made it their first single!
Cup sez "Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!" Who's gonna argue with that, either?! Recommended, along with the other amazing reissue on the Finders Keepers label we reviewed last week, Jean-Claude Vannier's L'Enfant Assassin Des Mouches.
MPEG Stream: "Okawa"
MPEG Stream: "Aieaoa"
MPEG Stream: "Abana Bakana"

YAMASUKI SINGERS, THE Le Monde Fabuleux Des (Finders Keepers) lp 27.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Everytime we've played this delicious reissue in the store, people have eagerly inquired, "Oooh, what's this?!" If you dig music that gleefully jumps boundaries and melts together genres with whimsical abandon (but NOT in the current irony-sodden, just-fuckin'-around fashion) -- in this case, a cross-cultural funneling in on the sounds of French Ye Ye Girl pop, far-out Japanese psych and prog influences, some almost-Carpenters level sing-song-y glorious pop, and assorted other vintage Euro-funkiness -- well then, Le Monde Fabuleux Des Yamasuki is for YOU!
Lovingly mastered from the original tapes by one of the original producers Monsieur Jean Kluger, this is the first time these recordings have been released on cd. Apparently there was originally one album and two singles released under the name The Yamsuki Singers on the French label Biram back in 1971. Needless to say, they've been next to impossible to find for years. If you're eager to get the skinny on Yamasuki, the project's lively history is printed in English in the liner notes, but there's also an added bonus on the back page of the booklet. If your French comprehension is any good, you can find out how to do the dance moves -- le salut, la joie, la peur, la grace, le combat, attaque (translation of this move's description: one assumes karate positions while shouting "caa ooh") and hara kiri!
By today's standards, you might find some of the 'oriental' (ahem, Asian) elements downright corny (the first song begins with a gong, and songs are introduced by a black-belt judo master!), but the sheer exuberance of the performances sweeps away any possibility of scowling criticisms. The sticker on the front proclaims "A fuzzed-out-educational-multi-cultural psych-rock-opera from 1971. Proto-psychedelic hip-hop with overweight drum beats and basslines!" Who's gonna argue with that?! Not us, we particularly appreciate the record label's use of the word "overweight". Yeah, we can hear what they're gettin' at -- the rhythm section is pretty thumpin' and hefty -- but it still made us giggle. Anyways, not to be super nit-picky but although this is indeed a conceptual album, after reading the liner notes we deduced that it's not so much a 'rock opera' per se, but more like a dance performance with lots of choral accompaniments. So who was behind all of this wonderful madness? Two French producer/composers, the aforementioned Kluger and Daniel Vangarde... and various children's choirs singing in Japanese. Ultra bizarre, campy, freaky and outrageous (again, even by today's standards!), we've got a sneaking suspicion that Ron and Russell Mael of Sparks probably saw/heard Yamasuki 'cause there sure are some striking resemblances with their own deliriously fantastic Kimono My House album that came out a few years later in 1974. You might find it sorta Zappa-ish too. Heck, it even spawned a dance move, "The Yamasuki"! Oh yeah, and if the fifth song "AIEAOA" sounds oddly familiar, you might recognize it as a song covered by Bananarama. Apparently the gals heard a version recorded by a band from Zaire (!), and loved it so much that they covered the cover "Aie A Mwana" and made it their first single!
Cup sez "Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!" Who's gonna argue with that, either?! Recommended, along with the other amazing reissue on the Finders Keepers label we reviewed last week, Jean-Claude Vannier's L'Enfant Assassin Des Mouches.
MPEG Stream: "Okawa"
MPEG Stream: "Aieaoa"
MPEG Stream: "Abana Bakana"

YAMATAKA EYE & JOHN ZORN Naninani II (Tzadik) cd 16.98
To certain ears, to fans of fucked-up avant-garde noisy ridiculousness (like us), the names John Zorn and Yamataka Eye separately but especially together are magical ones. To be perfectly honest, I (Allan) would have to credit the two of them, via Zorn's seminal genre-gargling "jazz" group Naked City for which Eye vocalised, for helping me on the way towards first experiencing some of the really fundamental, now-long-time-fave artists of my personal musical pantheon...(Eye's band) the Boredoms, then the Ruins, and from thence the whole Japanese noise (and psych, and prog) scene... So this disc is for folks like me/you/us. The extreme sax of Zorn, the extreme vocals of Eye, the additional extreme musical imaginings of both of 'em, combined on one crazy disc, the follow-up to their previous Naninani album on Tzadik from about nine years ago...wow, has it been that long? The obi strip on this cd points out that Eye and Zorn have been occasional musical collaborators for about twenty years now, having first met in Japan in 1986! So yeah, good thing we weren't holding our breath for this one. But it had to happen. And it holds up with the first Naninani (though, there's no beating "Bad Hawkwind") and their psuedo-historical disc of cantorial-inspired singing Zohar as well. The tracks here are quite diverse -- the first sounds like hysterical foreign children trapped in some physics experiment, while others are textural/drone experiments or are more overtly sax/jazz oriented freekouts. But even in a blindfold test, after hearing a few tracks fans of the duo should have no trouble guessing who is (ir)responsible for this.
MPEG Stream: "Fuckxotica"
MPEG Stream: "Bar Time With Eno"

YAMATAKA, EYE Re...Remix? Remix Works By Yamataka Eye (Shock City) cd 36.00
Boredoms fans!! Bandleader Eye Yamataka, when not conducting the Boredoms themselves through thunderous drum-circle tranceouts, has a sideline in doing remixes for other artists, incorporating the same mega dosage of percussive craziness, throbbing rhythm, and swerve-y turntablist glitch that you'd find spilling forth from the most way-out Boredoms tracks. If you picked up Lindstrom's Contemporary Fix remix ep that we listed a couple weeks back you've heard a good example of Eye's handiwork. This Japan-only import disc brings together a dozen other of his best recent remix projects, the raw material coming from bands both known and unknown (to us). All of 'em -- except for Gong -- being Japanese bands we're pretty sure. Along with Gong, some of the names we do know: OOIOO, Wrench, DJ Pica Pica Pica (who IS Eye, right?), and Ken Ishii's Flare. And the names we don't: Walrus, Zeebra, Atami, Black Drop The Bomb, NXS, Boat, and one more we can't figure out (it's written in Japanese). Given the headspinning EYE extreme remix treatment, these artists' disparate tracks sound like they belong together on one disc for sure, he's put his surreal stamp on each of 'em big time. It's a colorful, energetic melange of tribal drumming, barnyard noises, faux ethnic exotica, techno beats, tape manipulations, guitar riffs, and heaps of psychedelic electronic effects.
MPEG Stream: DJ PICA PICA PICA "SPA"
MPEG Stream: GONG "Master Builder"

YANAGIDA, HIRO s/t (Skyf Zol) cd 15.98
Japanese seventies psych rock, wild and crazy, from... 1971. Cool! This is the first time we've encountered a reissue of this album, the follow-up to keyboardist Yanagida's well-regarded solo debut Milk Time. It features Kimo Mizutani (on some seriously *piercing* lead fuzz guitar!!) who was a member of legendary weird psych-prog acts Love Live Life +1 and Food Brain along with Yanagida. And also guesting on this album is Joey Smith of Speed, Glue & Shinki and Juan de la Cruz fame (his "doo wop" vocals on the pot-positive love song "My Dear Mary" are worth a chuckle).
This is really all over the place -- we're partial to the heavier instrumental numbers like "The Butcher" and "The Murder In The Midnight" but the gentler, poppier fare like "Always" and "Melancholy" or the flutey "The Skyscraper 42nd F" are enjoyable too. Overall this can be described as proggy, a bit bluesy, Hammond-grooving, and sorta wacky. And again we should mention that there's just a heckuva lot of that aforementioned high-end, ear-canal invading guitar tone from Mizutani. Sounds like a bug zapper, we're diggin' it! Oh, and based on the surface noise, we don't think this is a reissue from the master tapes...
MPEG Stream: "The Butcher"
MPEG Stream: "Fantasia"

YBO2 Greatest Hits Volume 1 (SSE Communications) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Before starting Ruins, Tatsuya Yoshida played in this unusual 80's avant-progrock band, along with K.K. Null of Zeni Geva, original Ruins bassist Hideki Kawamoto, and mainman (on bass, vocals, & keyboards) Kitamura Masashi. These two volumes collect the "greatest hits" from their many records--a bunch of weirdness, all dark, emotional, complex and heavy stuff, including an interpretation of a Paul Simon tune! Recommended to all fans of Ruins!

YBO2 Greatest Hits Volume 2 (SSE Communications) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Before starting Ruins, Tatsuya Yoshida played in this unusual 80's avant-progrock band, along with K.K. Null of Zeni Geva, original Ruins bassist Hideki Kawamoto, and mainman (on bass, vocals, & keyboards) Kitamura Masashi. These two volumes collect the "greatest hits" from their many records--a bunch of weirdness, all dark, emotional, complex and heavy stuff, including an interpretation of a Paul Simon tune! Recommended to all fans of Ruins!

YELLOW MACHINE GUN Spot Remover (Howling Bull) cd 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
As their recent bay area shows confirmed, this band completely destroys. Three twenty year old Japanese girls, playing grinding thunderous metal. Coming soon: a split 7" with S.O.D. and a new album.

YERMO s/t (Last Visible Dog) cd-r 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Another Celebrate Psi Phenomena expat (having shared a terrific split cd-r with MCMS, now out of print) finds their way to our pals Last Visible Dog. Yermo offer up a glorious wash of cascading upper register dreaminess, like the sound of rubbed champagne glasses, crystalline and delicate, over an mesmerising thrum that subtly oscillates, creating an hypnotic almost-rhythm. The whole thing slowly builds in intensity until it's a howling storm of feedback and buzz, dotted with thick bursts of jagged NOISE, all washing over you in a wave of thick warm sound. Fans of Total, Vibracathedral Orchestra, Sunroof!, the Dead C and the like bset start paying close attention to Yermo, 'cause they have yet to disappoint!
RealAudio clip: "-one-"

YOKOTA, SUSUMU Symbol (Lo Recordings) cd 14.98
Susumu Yokota has been active in the electronic music scene for the last twenty years. While his early days were spent mostly on house and other facets of dance music, recent years have found him exploring more ambient and textured sides of electronic production with a sound that often sounds similar to a Philip Glass or Steve Reich composition. In fact we were playing this in the store right after listening to the new Steve Reich and a customer who was here while we were playing it didn't realize we were now listening to Yokota and during "Flaming Love and Destiny" one of the best tracks on the album remarked "Wow, this new Steve Reich is great!" Yokota loves to intertwine the worlds of classical and modern electronica. While sometimes he can be guilty of pouring it all on a little thick and syrupy (as does Mr. Glass to whom he's often aligned) as happens on the first and last tracks, luckily for the most part he finds a nice balance of subtly and emotion that makes for a really nice listen.
MPEG Stream: "Flaming Love and Destiny"
MPEG Stream: "Blue Sky And Yellow Sunflower"

YOKOTA, SUSUMU The Boy And The Tree (Leaf) cd 15.98
For over a dozen years, the immensely prolific Susumu Yokota has adeptly moved in and around many different genres -- drawing much critical acclaim and praise from fellow artists such as Radiohead, Super Furry Animals and Philip Glass (actually many moments on this particular release are quite reminiscent of Glass). His albums, each very distinct from the next, are often categorized as 'ambient' or 'house' or the all-encompassing 'electronica', but his music is much more far-reaching. This album is certainly no exception. It's a haunting, fluid, organic work which Yokota has called his "dream story" with the boy in the title being himself. Definitely not for the dancefloor, The Boy And The Tree seems more suited for a pair of good headphones. As each track unfurls an array of traditional Japanese instruments, a new beautiful atmosphere emerges.
RealAudio clip: "The Colour Of Pomegranates"
RealAudio clip: "Red Swan"

YOKOTA, SUSUMU & ROTHKO Distant Sounds Of Summer (Lo Recordings) cd 14.98

YONA-KIT (Skin Graft) cd 14.98
This is KK Null (Zeni Geva, Brise Glace), Jim O'Rourke (Gastr del Sol), Thymme Jones (Illusion of Safety) and Darin Gray (Dazzling Killmen).

YONA-KIT (Skin Graft) lp 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This is KK Null (Zeni Geva, Brise Glace), Jim O'Rourke (Gastr del Sol), Thymme Jones (Illusion of Safety) and Darin Gray (Dazzling Killmen).

YOSHIDA, AMI Tiger Thrush (Improvised Music From Japan) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

YOSHIDA, TATSUYA A Million Years (Magaibutsu) cd 14.98
Ruins drummer Yoshida's third very strange solo album -- and when he does a solo album, it's really just him, drums, guitar, keyboard, voices, etc. (AND, he can play it all live, by himself.) This one starts off maybe kind of like This Heat trying to play the Simpsons theme, and just gets weirder.

YOSHIDA, TATSUYA Magaibutsu (Review Records) cd 14.98
Cool! A reissue of the long-out-of-print 1991 solo cd debut from Ruins drummer Tatsuya Yoshida, "Magaibutsu" (also the name of his own record label). Yoshida remixed it in 2001, and now there's six bonus tracks appended as well. And when Yoshida makes a solo album, it sure is: he's a one-man-band (literally, he can do most of this stuff live -- with headset microphone, drum kit, keyboard, and a guitar in his lap!) doing crazed compositions that are similar to Ruins fare but even more maniacal. Really. I (Allan) remember buying the original cd when it came out -- at the time I only had one Ruins cd, the magnificent "Stonehenge", and was eager to hear more from that (then) mysterious Japanese avant-rock bass and drums duo. I found "Magaibutsu" somewhere and bought it on the chance that it had something to do with the Ruins (nobody at the place where I bought it knew what it was, but the cover photo collage of, well, ruins, plus the cryptic song titles and Yoshida's at-the-time-unfamiliar-but-definitely-Japanese name made me think it might). When I got it home and put it on, the drums/keys/vocal onslaught of opening track "Joneoik" happily confirmed that it indeed had to be the work of the same crazed musical mastermind behind the Ruins. I was very pleased. And it remains probably one of the most weird and wonderful discs in my collection. Absolutely essential to all Ruins fans, if you don't have this already (or maybe even if you do, 'cause of the bonus tracks, which fit in well but maybe aren't essential in and of themselves), get this! Quirky and hectic songwriting a la Ruins, with of course Yoshida's incredible drumming and nonsensical vocal stylings. Despite the solo format, Yoshida uses a wider variety of instrumental textures than usually appear in Ruins songs -- there's quite a lot of his hockey-rink-sounding organ plinking out maddeningly repetitive and catchy riffs, plus astonishing multitracked vocals, scratchy guitar, and piano ivory tickling. So at points it's sparse and minimal, but at others super-dense and heavy. Magma was still a major influence (and Charles Hayward as well), along with what sounds like some faux-ethnic explorations in the vein of the Sun City Girls (especially notable on "Kasinuc"). Compared to Ruins, this is also more percussive and carnival-esque.
RealAudio clip: "Joneoik"
RealAudio clip: "Vonisch"
RealAudio clip: "Nessang"
RealAudio clip: "Ogatta"
RealAudio clip: "Ijocuff"

YOSHIDA, TATSUYA & KEIJI HAINO Until Water Grasps Flame (Noise Asia / Sonic Factory) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We mentioned this exciting collaborative release in last list's review of the Knead cd, and now we do indeed have a bunch of 'em in stock. Tatsuya Yoshida you know as the drummer for Japan's amazing Ruins, while Keiji Haino has for many years been the dark musical shaman of Tokyo with his out-rock group Fushitsusha. (He's also the cover star of this month's issue of The Wire, by chance.)
Unlike the Ruins + Haino summit known as Knead, "Until Water Grasps Flame" sees our heroes investigating a wider variety of sonic constructions, from spazzy jazz skronk to folkish improv.
Knead, by contrast, was pretty much a full-on noise rock blast a la Fushitsusha. There's some of that here ("At The Instant That One Thinks To Oneself 'No Way', What Percent Is Nostalgia?"), but lots more besides. Like Knead, this is rather more Haino's thing than Yoshida's (you can tell Haino named the songs, not Yoshida!), though fans of the Ruins man won't fail to recognize his stamp on the proceedings as well. But actually the few, more Yoshida-esqe tracks with lotsa drum clatter and jagged guitar found here aren't our faves anyway. What we're really digging about this disc are the songs that get into a weird zone of shimmering drone, sparse and ambient, using an array of intriguing ethnic instrumentation. It's dark improvised folk psychedelia that almost sounds like it belongs on the Kemialliset Ystavat disc reviewed elsewhere this list, until out of Yoshida's rolling percussion ambience emerges Haino's unmistakable anguished vocals.
Several of us here at AQ have been on what you might term a "Keiji Haino kick" of late, digging out our old PSF and Tokuma cds and re-acquainting our ears with his unique, deeply felt sounds. Sometimes harsh, sometimes gentle, always dark, emotive, and beautiful. The appearance of this cd has been but one of the many things to trigger our personal Haino renaissance. Perhaps hearing it will instill in you the same excitement. And Yoshida is of course another long-time AQ favorite, so it's cool that he and Haino have finally gotten together for these two full-length collaborations (this one, and Knead).
RealAudio clip: "Decision After Gentle Use"
RealAudio clip: "Signs Of Gratitude For 5Hz"
RealAudio clip: "Making The Excuse That 'Of Course It Is All For You'"
RealAudio clip: "At The Instant That One Thinks To Oneself 'No Way', What Percent Is Nostalgia?"

YOSHIDA, TATSUYA & SATOKO FUJII Erans (Tzadik) cd 16.98

YOSHIDA, TATSUYA & SOTOYAMA AKIRA Drum Duo (Enban) dvd-r 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

YOSHIDA, TATSUYA (AND VARIOUS ARTISTS) Devil From The East: A Decade Of Yoshida Tatsuya (Bloody Butterfly) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Another literal warehouse find, from the same place where we found the (now all gone) Leningrad Blues Machine cds listed last time, and it's another one for you Japanophiles, being a compilation released in 1994 of tracks by various and sundry bands that Ruins mastermind drummer/vocalist Tatsuya Yoshida had played in, up 'til then. Since Yoshida was (& still is!) such a crucial part of the Japanese psych/prog/noise underground, the list of bands is kinda nuts. Here's the entire lineup: Ruins, YBO2, Dissecting Table, High Rise, ZOA, Torture Garden (John Zorn's Japanese version of Naked City, also featuring Eye Yamatsuka), Gerogerigegege, Vasilisk, Malinconia, Phaidia, Aburadako, Tairikuotoko vs. Sanmyakuonna, Koenjihyakkei, Zeni Geva, and one more we couldn't figure out the English name of, plus two solo tracks by Yoshida in one-man-band mode (including the very first track, home-recorded by Yoshida way back in '83). Wow. So as well as being a Yoshida collection, it's also pretty good sampler of the Japanese underground circa '83-'93.
Obviously, in many cases, these weren't all HIS projects, the way Ruins are. Yoshida's just such an amazing drummer, that lots of bands wanted him to play with them - even the infamous masturbating Gerogerigegege! Yoshida's mock-operatic vocal stylings also come into play upon occasion (and he plays bass in one band, instead of drums). Although as you might expect, technical prog stuff is a big element of this, the range of styles is surprising, and hard to define, it includes avant-punk, gothic cabaret music, screaming hardcore skronk, industrial noise, garage doom-psych, chaotic RIO funk, and alt-alt-alt-J-pop... We're pretty sure almost all the tracks are exclusive to this comp, almost all of 'em recorded live, not taken from albums. In many cases, they may be the only recorded documentation of Yoshida playing with a particular unit. The songs we did recognize (whether live or the actual studio versions) are all from pretty rare discs anyways. And of course this out of print cd itself is rare too. We checked online, and there's places selling used copies for around $50!! So, Ruins/Yoshida/Japanese music nerds, you'd best act fast! We only found a few... And yes, we'll keep digging at that warehouse and see what else interestin' we might get lucky and discover.
MPEG Stream: ZOA "Disillusive"
MPEG Stream: DISSECTING TABLE "I Get My Slogan"
MPEG Stream: TATSUYA YOSHIDA "First Flight"

YOSHIDA, TATSUYA, & RON ANDERSON A Is For A Accident (FMN) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The second improvisatory collaboration between these two, Yoshida being the drummer of Ruins, and Ron the guitarist for Oakland's Molecules.

YOSHIMI AND YUKA Flower With No Color (Ipecac) cd 17.98
Anticipation was high for this collaboration between Yoshimi (Boredoms, OOIOO, Flaming Lips guest) and Yuka Honda (Cibo Matto)... But unfortunately this turned out to be pretty much a total throwaway of a record, this sounds like Yuka and Yoshimi got set loose in an instrument store and just futzed around with the toys, like, y'know, playing the piano with two fingers and trying out the mikes, etc. With absolutely no actual songs to speak of, it's sometimes atmospheric and pretty, at times reaching towards Miles Davis style quiet cool, but no amount of sampled bird calls can make up for how tossed-off this album sounds. A complete disappointment, especially considering how much we like and respect their other work with their other projects, and a little insulting that they expect us to pay money for this album because it doesn't sound like they put any actual work into it.
MPEG Stream: "La Donna Ni Demo Des Kinna"

YOSHIZAWA, MOTOHARU Outfit: Bass Solo 2 1/2 (Kinroad) cd 26.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

YUASA, JOJI Obscure Tape Music Of Japan: Volume 1 (Omega Point) cd 23.00

YUASA, JOJI Obscure Tape Music Of Japan: Volume 4 (Omega Point) cd 23.00

YURA YURA TEIKOKU na.ma.shi.bi.re.na.ma.me.ma.i (Mesh-Key) cd 11.98
This modern Japanese psychedelic pop band has been around forever (like, 15 years now at least), having recorded for underground labels like Captain Trip and PSF before making the jump to (in Japan) major-label status, we think. Over here of course they're still fairly unknown, but NYC label Mesh-Key is doing their best to change that, by issuing this 2003 live recording in the States (actually, the cd itself appears to be the actual Japanese release, but with an extra paper obi sleeve printed up by Mesh-Key added on to provide some English-language context). Over an hour long, the show documented here should definitely give prospective Yura Yura Teikoku fans a decent sampling of the band's charms, from the ghostly to the garagey, from chaotic crashing rockers to Velvets inspired, gentle poppiness. There's definitely enough in the way of intense Rallize-like distorto guitar on here to please those into YYT's colleagues LSD-March and Up-Tight (as on the track "Penetration" that starts off all "Twist And Shout" before they burn up their amps in a firestorm of guitar noise).
For those who follow the Tokyo psych scene, we should mention that Yura Yura Teikoku features one of the members of The Stars, and that Michio Kurihara (Ghost/White Heaven/The Stars) often guests on their records, though we don't know if he's on here or not...but he IS quoted in a blurb on the obi calling Yura Yura Teikoku "the greatest band in the world"!!
Limited to 700 copies, presumably because that's how many left-over cds from the Japanese cd pressing Mesh-Key was able to buy up? Limited vinyl also due soon from Mesh-Key.
MPEG Stream: "Penetration"
MPEG Stream: "Became A Star"