The Sound Projector

Illness, preceded by my travels beyond the seas, have kept the news of new releases at bay for a while. I want to present pictorially and verbally these three curiosities from the enchanted land of my dreams, Japan. Ayami Nakayama is owner-operator of the TACO-ché bookstore out there in Tokyo and he very kindly sent me this small batch of CDs, but he has nothing to do with the music or the record labels involved (which I think are run by friends of his). The rounded faces on his shop’s printed bags register every degree of customer satisfaction up to and including a near-hysterical joy, which may suggest something to you about the nature of the stock carried at this emporium. Adults only should visit the above link, which will widen some eyes in like manner.

Altered States recorded the entirety of Bluffs ii (DOUBT MUSIC dmf-109) in one day in December 2005, with the magical trio of players using ‘no overdubs, no edit…this is what happened in studio’. What happened was eight lengthy tunes of energetic and powerful prog-inspired free-jazz noise burst-plosions, with the three geniuses turning in plenty of evidence of their uncanny near-telepathic mode of playing to execute tight-dynamic chord changes and impossible time-signatures, sounding for all the world like a super-psychedelic version of King Crimson. Most of my Altered States records feature the original drum and bass duo doing much the same things to equally impressive effect, but the addition of guitarist Uchiashi Kazuhisa here has added new layers of mind-bending virtuosity that should make the jaws of all fans of avant-rock hit the floor in short order. The plain cream-coloured typography cover does nothing to illustrate the richness of music here. This flawless record reminds me why I started paying attention to new Japanese rock in 1995!

Outsider vocalist-wizard Makigami Koichi recorded Moon Ether (dms-107) for the same label a little later, releasing it in 2006. Inside a blue cover, a gold CD emerges decorated with the phases of the moon. It’s a record of sound poetry and live electronics, all eleven tracks made using his voice and throat, sometimes accompanied with a treated theremin. The man achieves uncanny throatal grunts every bit as powerful as the visceral eruptions loosed from Phil Minton’s belly, except that our Japanese protagonist is not attached to the school of free-form improvisation, nor is he averse to uttering inpromptu chants, prayers and speech-singing within his (sometimes overdubbed) compositions. Astonishing examples of quiet, modest miniature poems emerge, everything shot through with Koichi’s very distinctive and warped view of the world. If you want to hear something you genuinely have never heard before in your life, seek out this slice of wonderment to illuminate your inner world.

The Hose record (UNKNOWNMIX 4 / HEADZ 97) is no less disorienting to Western ears, I might add. The quintet of players – the only name among them which I recognise is Taku Unami, director of Hibari Music – turn in a suite of eccentric performances using horns, percussion, guitar and occasional vocal yawps. The gentle sound (it’s a very soft, muffled recording) and the conventional-ish instrumentation fool you into thinking you’re about to get something familiar, but that assurance will soon wear off – despite those tasteful Burt Bacharach-inflected jazz chords which open the record. As they wander down many a tangential backwater and take every possible unexpected diversion before reaching their destination, Hose exhibit the same skill for fast-changes and strong dynamics as Altered States, only in an acoustic framework. But what it all leaves you with is a delightful sense of bafflement. If you enjoy those great early Residents records that use horns (eg Not Available), then you are in for a massive treat here. Poetic absurdist titles such as ‘Would you mind being re-animated’ confirm the playful genius at work here, as does the Surrealist landscape printed inside this package which happens to be one of those miniature gatefold LP replica sleeves which the Japanese do so well. And as you can see from the front cover, Hose perceive themselves as warrior-soldiers enlisted in a very peculiar private army. Composed by Unami and released in 2007, this record is something worth getting out of bed in the morning for, a real ‘Excuse To Live’.

1. Altered States, ‘vii’
   From Bluffs ii, JAPAN doubtmusic dmf-109 CD (2006)
2. Supersonic Riverside Blues, ‘Seth’
   From data 4.5.1, FRANCE D’AUTRES CORDES RECORDS d’ac 5001 CD (2008)
3. Bartek Kujawski, ‘Hyssop’
   From Murlull Movies, POLAND WARSZTAT8R W8R00 CD (2008)
4. The Holy Modal Rounders, ‘Indian War Whoop’ (1965)
   From Live in 65, USA ESP-DISK’ ESP 4045 CD (2008)
5. Alva Noto, ‘u_08-1′
   From Unitxt, GERMANY RASTER-NOTON r-n 095 CD (2008)
6. Cath and Phil Tyler, ‘Queen Sally’
   From Dumb Supper, UK NO-FI RECORDINGS NEU008 CD (2008)
7. Gamma Goat, ‘Mighty Big Boots’
   From Beard of Sound, Beard of Sand, USA PUBLIC EYESORE EH?39CDR (2008)
8. Henry Grimes Trio [featuring Perry Robinson], ‘Saturday Night What Th”
   From The Call, USA ESP-DISK’ ESP 1026 CD (2008)
9. Sudden Infant, ‘Tandoori Chicken Scooter III’
   From Psychotic Einzelkind, USA BLOSSOMING NOISE BNO36CD (2008)
10. Makigami Koichi, ‘Zackly’
    From Moon Ether, JAPAN doubtmusic dms-107 CD CD (2006)
11. Hose, ‘Hankyu-Rokko on the Seabed’
    From Hose, JAPAN UNKNOWNMIX4 / HEADZ 97 CD (2007)
12. Jazkamer, ‘Tonal Protest’
    From Jazkamer / Mark Durgan split 7”, UK NO-FI RECORDINGS NEU006 7-INCH SINGLE (2007)
13. Ralph Lundsten with Neurobash, ‘Constructing Tomorrow’
    From The Naked Moon and the Virgin Sun, SWEDEN ANDROMEDA MUSIC AB ACD 53 CD (2008)
14. Allroh, ‘Dieser’
    From NYM, AUSTRIA TROST TRO97 CD (2008)
15. Barnaby Oliver, ‘Glossalia’
    From …My Arms are Hollow Tubes, AUSTRALIA UNSTATES UN02 CDR (2007)
16. The Giuseppe Logan Quartet, ‘Dance of Satan’ (1964)
    From The Giuseppe Logan Quartet, ESP-DISK’ ESP 1007 CD (2008)
17. Fria Konstellationen, ‘Röst Av Mossa’
    From Musik om Fria Konstellationen, SWEDEN REV/VEGA REC. RVR004 CD (2008)

The Sound Projector radio show,
originally broadcast on Resonance 104.4 FM

1. Alvin Curran, ‘In Hora Mortis’
   From Lost Marbles, USA TZADIK TZ 7097 CD (2004)
2. Tom Recchion, ‘The Crazy Beat’
   From Sweetly Doing Nothing, USA SCHOOLMAP SCHOOL1 CD (2006)
3. Lily Greenham, ‘Circulation’
   From Lingual Music, UK PARADIGM DISCS PD 22 2 x CD (2007)
4. Achim Wollschied, ‘Careful Inquiry’
   From Acts, GERMANY SELEKTION SCD 028 (1999)
5. Intermodulation, ‘Performants’ (1971)
   From Not Necessarily “English Music” compilation, USA LEONARDO MUSIC JOURNAL CD SERIES VOLUME 11 / EMF CD 036 2 x CD (2001)
6. Robert Ashley, ‘The Indifference Text’
   From Improvement, USA ELEKTRA NONESUCH 7559-79289-2 2 x CD (1992)
7. David Behrman, ‘Players with Circuits’ (1966)
   From Wave Train, ITALY ALGA MARGHEN plana-B 5NMN.020 CD (1998)
8. Hispurslausi Sextettinn, ‘Junkyard Alchemy’
   From Motorlab #1, ICELAND KITCHEN MOTORS / SMEKKLEYSA SM/KM 1 CD (2000)
9. Bernhard Gál, ‘Defragmentation/blue’
   From Installations, AUSTRIA GROMOGA RECORDS GRO 10501 CD (2005)
10. Ben Patterson, ‘Pond’
    From Early Works, ITALY ALGA MARGHEN plana-P 8NMN.028 CD (1999)
11. Paul Panhuysen and The Galvanos, ‘Reading’
    From Lost For Words, USA TABLE OF THE ELEMENTS TOE-CD-45 CD (1998)
12. Lily Greenham, ‘Polar Polaris’
    From Lingual Music, op cit.

The Sound Projector radio show,
originally broadcast on Resonance 104.4 FM

Two CDs by the classical modernist composer Miya Masaoka sent in from the small label Solitary B in New York City. On For Birds, Planes and Cello (SB 002) we have the performing skills of cellist Joan Jeanrenaud, juxtaposed with a ‘continuous field recording’, to produce some very uplifting sonic consonances for 54 minutes. Starting place was a recording made in the San Diego canyon, in which locale the composer found herself enchanted by the sounds of airplanes flying overhead and the migratory calls of various birds. She worked out a collaborative effort with the cellist to produce an assortment of musical shapes that would accord harmoniously with the sounds on the tape. There is no real ‘message’ underlying any of this (unlike there might be with Pauline Oliveros, who if she visited the same canyon would apply her ‘deep listening’ methods and exhume many a spiritual nugget from those massive stony walls), just a simple pleasure taken in handling sonic shapes and abstractions and fitting them together. Same composer has also turned in While I was walking I heard a sound… (SB 001), which is far more elaborate as it involves no fewer than three choirs of human voices, and nine solo singers who have to be positioned carefully around the balconies of St Ignatius Cathedral in San Francisco. The resultant acappella (and completely wordless) harmony-clusters are certainly charming enough, although not quite full of the microtonal glories I associate with György Ligeti. Again, the work seems to be all about form, and acoustical qualities; and despite the ecclesiastical setting, Masaoka’s concerns are not in any way aligned with ‘holy minimalism’ or spiritual content. However, the music certainly connected with Margaret Leng Tan in NYC; in this work, she finds echoes of Hiroshima, 9/11, birds, bees, and the sensation of descending into the abyss.

Swiss improvising duo Diatribes joined forces with Dragos Tara and Piero SK to record L’Instant D’Après (INSUBORDINATIONS INSUBCDR03), a percussion-heavy set of recordings made in Lausanne and Geneva earlier this year. The bass player contributes some memorable groanages on ‘Le Mauvaise Oeil’, and the sax player adds his bitter wailings to the fourth track, which is an extended lament about the failings of democracy. There’s a laptop player somewhere in these murky effusions, but it’s the drummer Cyril Bondi who seems to dominate most of the airspace with his thudding bass drum.

Another nice obscurity of American drone-noise on the Inam Records label was kindly sent to us by ‘RH’ of Indiana. Sujo’s Dora (INAM 23) is a CDR in a small edition of 100 copies, with a permatrace insert depicting a sea monster from an old engraving. Four long tracks of distorted dread are set forth, using carefully controlled guitar fuzz and subdued feedback waves. Described as a ‘downer for the narcotic set’, this open-ended music can be something of a relief from a steady diet of stoner music that leans too heavily on aggressive rhythms and snarled vocals. Sujo allow you to read your own stories into their mysterious horizon-less vistas.

Joe Grimm’s Braincloud (SPEKK KK.015) doesn’t do a lot for me musically, although I really like the title Braincloud so I just wanted to mention that. I prefer the drawings on the cover by Cybele Collins, which are quite attractive pen-stroke elaborations reminiscent of Scottie Wilson. Also Collins does some nice hand-lettering perched discreetly on the corner of the cover and it’s all printed up in a tasteful shade of bronze ink. Grimm, who also calls himself the Wind-Up Bird, says that his ‘music deals with overtones’, but I can’t find enough substance in these tasteful heat-haze digital apparitions that he conjures. It’s no more effective than spraying the room with air freshener.

{{{Sunset}}} is Bill Baird, who used to be a member of Sound Team. His Bright Blue Dream (AUTOBUS RECORDS AUTO 007) solo CD is a set of ten songs, whose lyrical content appears to be quite world-weary (‘Man’s Heart Complaint’) if not outright pessimistic (‘Diamond Studded Caskets’). The production method is appealing, with its layers of keyboards and drums and double-tracked voice effects that suggest a sort of klunky, lo-fi reverse Todd Rundgren. Baird’s thin and solemn voice is usually not very ‘forward’ in the mix, neither are all the lyrics audible, but his deadpan acting style shines through and adds to the bittersweet pain of these disillusioned melodies. May appeal to fans of Smog.

1. Dislocation, ‘Between the Windows of the Sea (Part One)
   From Carve Another Notch, SCOTLAND SCATTER 01:CD (1994)
2. Evan Parker and Paul Lytton, ‘On Reflection’
   From At The Unity Theatre, UK INCUS RECORDS INCUS 14 LP (1975)
3. John Butcher and Phil Durrant, ‘A Tilbury’
   From Secret Measures, USA WOBBLY RAIL WOB 006 CD (1997)
4. Anthony Braxton featuring Richard Teitelbaum, ‘#4′
   From Open Aspects ‘82, SWITZERLAND HAT HUT RECORDS HAT ART 1996/96 2 x LP (1982)
5. Evan Parker and Walter Prati, ‘Double Negative’
   From Hall of Mirrors, ITALY MM&T RECORDS CD01 (1990)
6. Joe McPhee (with John Snyder), ‘Voices’
   From The Willisau Concert, SWITZERLAND HAT HUT RECORDS B LP (1976)
7. Charles Austin and Joe Gallivan, ‘Finding Speed’
   From Home from Home, UK OGUN RECORDING LTD OG 522 LP (1979)
8. Evan Parker and Lawrence Casserley, ‘Tlaloc’
   From Solar Wind, UK TOUCH TO:35 CD (1997)
9. Borbetomagus and Voice Crack, ‘Cracked Magus’
   From Fish That Sparkling Bubble, USA AGARIC RECORDS Ag 1987 / SWITZERLAND UHLAND PRODUKTION UP06 LP (1987)
10. Julius Hemphill, extract from Roi Boyé and The Gotham Minstrels, USA SACKVILLE 3014/15 2 x LP (1977)

Simultaneous playback with:

11. David Tudor, ‘Sliding Pitches in the Rainforest in the Field: Rainforest Version IV’ (1973)
    From Rainforest, USA MODE RECORDS MODE 64 CD (1998)
12. Anthony Braxton featuring Richard Teitelbaum, ‘#5′
    From Open Aspects ‘82, op cit.
13. Evan Parker and Walter Prati, ‘The Port Said Model (for Conrad Cork)’
    From Hall of Mirrors, op cit.
14. Lol Coxhill with The Recedents, ‘Deja Vu’
    From Frog Dance, UK IMPETUS RECORDS IMP 28407 2 x LP (1986)

The Sound Projector radio show,
originally broadcast on Resonance 104.4 FM