Overhang Party Live Before and After

Catching up on things that I’ve had awaiting a writeup… There’s this stellar double-CD of live recordings from the formidable Overhang Party, released by Musik Atlach. With 10 songs, 5 on each disc, these pieces from 2004-2006 see leader Fukuoka Rinji with two different lineups and, hence sound to some extent. The first disc is with second guitarist Suzuki Junzo, Sachiko on bass, and Akiyama Kimiyasu on drums. The second disc has Sachiko adding occasional violin, with the second guitar role filled by Yamanouchi Akira and drums from Yamazaki Iwao.

Both discs are filled with long psychedelic excursions, of course, but the second has a more shambling, atmospheric feel perhaps — including the closer “Prayer of a Fool”, over 20 minutes of drone voyaging. Fans of things psych will find a lot to like throughout: those with a more rockist bent may prefer the first disc, while those preferring a zoneout will go for the second. I’m happy to have both available.

Visit Overhang Party on MySpace and Musik Atlach for more information.

Listen: Tokyo Zero-Fighter

Defektro U.S. tour plans

Just a short note that the great noise project Defektro (currently in Australia after relocating from Tokyo a little while back) is considering a U.S. tour this year. If you might be interested in helping out, get in touch with Hirofumi Uchino. And while you’re at it, be sure to check out his current crop of amazing custom effects as well as, of course, the latest Defektro releases. Visit the Defektro site and the Lastgasp Art Labs site.

KBB & Jinmo

First up is KBB, whose Proof of Concept CD was released by our friends at Poseidon Records in conjunction with Musea in Europe. KBB is a prog foursome channeling some thing that lies between fusion and classical, thanks primarily to the combination of Akihisa Tsuboy’s violin and Toshimitsu Takahashi’s keyboards. Opening with the 10+ minute “Inner Flames” they show off some heavy prog technique, and Tsuboy’s violin resembles McLaughlin-esque guitar flurries. “Intermezzo,” on the flip side, is much more classical in nature, and “Rice Planting Song” sounds rather gypsy-influenced.

Listen to “Weigh Anchor” by KBB.

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On a completely different planet entirely lies Jinmo, a crazy guitarist who’s created something of his own genre by combining mechanistic cybermusic with guitar licks of a speed that leaves Buckethead and everyone else in the dust. The Neo Tokyo picture disc, released by Koi Records, is a rather attractive bit of vinyl as well. The album is divided into 30 tracks, each under two minutes in length — which is wise, because more than two minutes of this at a time and your head might explode. Like Voivod on 78, this is pretty strong medicine.

Listen to “Neo Tokyo! 158″ by Jinmo.

Suishou no Fune Writhing Underground Flowers

Just released by New Mexico’s Lotus Sound label, Suishou no Fune have a new album out, Writhing Underground Flowers. Packaged in a really swank heavy cardboard sleeve like a mini-gatefold, this time the group is pared back to the core duo of Pirako and Kageo. With no drummer, we get three extended drone tracks based around their ultra-heavy guitars and Pirako’s intermittent vocals. As before, her vocals are more like an additional instrument than voice, blending into the overall reverb-drenched atmosphere.

The biggest surprise here is the harmonica, which Pirako adds into the mix during the middle song, “A Midnight Ode - Like The Wind” to surreal, tripped-out effect. With Kageo contributing bursts of guitar scrape and blare, the harmonica mixes into things in an unexpected way, like a drunk bluesman trapped in a Fushitsusha song: if he keeps on playing, maybe it’ll turn out okay. And of course it does.

Three long songs, totaling to an hour of dark, droning, cavernous guitar bliss.

Listen to an excerpt from “In the MoonLight” by Suishou no Fune.

Andromelos

One would be easily forgiven for having extremely high expectations from Andromelos upon learning the members: Yamazaki Maso (electronics), aka Masonna; Okano Futoshii (drums), drummer extraordinaire from such bands as Subvert Blaze, Ghost, and Nishi-Nihon; and Kawabata Makoto (guitar, organ), needing no introduction I’m sure to readers of this blog.

I’ve seen a couple of brief reviews of this album that seemed disappointed, perhaps expecting an alchemical reaction from this combination of talent resulting in an entirely new genre of music. In reality, the album is precisely what might be expected if you take certain aspects of each member’s careers and blend them. Rather than Masonna’s noise, take Maso’s Space Machine project; rather than Subvert Blaze’s balls-out rock, take Okano’s time with Ghost; and rather than Acid Mothers Temple brain-melting chaos, inject Kawabata’s spacier trips. Then you have Andromelos.

Released by Ektro Records, the CD is presented as two tracks, but they’re really parts 1 and 2 of a single song, jokingly titled “Tea Breaks Are Under Attack From 2300000 Light Years.” After a few minutes of Schulzian synth and organ drones, the first part launches into Cosmic Jokers territory, clattering drums and relatively restrained guitar leads riding electronic waves into distant galaxies. It’s pretty satisfying, I have to say. The second part might not feature Okano at all, or if it does it’s nearly hidden, as things stay on the astral drone-plane for the remainder of the album. I would have liked a bit more rock, of the kraut variety of course, but it’s nonetheless pretty stellar (literally).

It would be fascinating to hear a different collision of these players’ backgrounds, perhaps harsher electronics over barnstorming drums and guitar in a more Mainlinerish vein. You know, something to redefine what “space rock” might mean. But for now, this is still getting a lot of play around here.

Listen to an excerpt from “Tea Breaks…Part 1″ by Andromelos.

Miminokoto It will be New Miminokoto

It was a shame when Miminokoto stopped playing a year or two ago, but now we can all be pleased that it’s resulted in two joys for the price of one. Guitarist Kawaguchi has his New Rock Syndicate, and now drummer Koji Shimura (known to many as well for his participation in groups like Acid Mothers Temple and Mainliner) continues Miminokoto. It’s unclear whether this is in fact the new Miminokoto, but since that’s what the title says, we’ll assume as much.

So here Shimura is joined by guitarist-about-town Suzuki Junzo, about whom I’ve written previously. Thankfully, Suzuki’s profile seems to be getting higher, because he’s a fantastic player with a fine emotional sense to him.

This short CDR EP, which seems to be sold out but may still be available if you do some hunting, offers five songs — two of them written by the late Jutoku Kaneko of Kousokuya. Those two songs are quite effecting, both on their own and due to the added gravitas of Kaneko’s recent passing, which has affected the Tokyo scene just as strongly as one might imagine. The three originals by Junzo and Koji are also terrific, in a similar vein to previous Miminokoto outings but with a rougher, more devil-may-care feeling. Junzo’s playing fits perfectly, even while bringing a different sensibility to the Miminokoto style. I really hope that we’ll be hearing and seeing more from this new configuration of Miminokoto — soon.

Listen to “1-3-5″ by Miminokoto.

Strawberry Path When the Raven Has Come to the Earth

This album’s been written up a little bit on some psych-oriented blogs, but is still worth bringing to the attention of readers here, I suspect. Strawberry Path was Jimmy & Hiro, also known as Shigeru Narumo (guitars and keys) and Hiro Tsunoda (drums and vocals), and When the Raven Has Come to the Earth, released in 1971, is some terrific psych-rock that blends bits of Hendrix, Cream, Procol Harum, Blue Cheer, and Zeppelin. Very much rock of its time, with some great guitar work, great keys, and generally a good-time vibe.

I read one blog saying that George Yanagi, who sang on Shinki Chen’s Friends album, was the vocalist of Strawberry Path, but in fact he only sings on the first song, “I Gotta See My Gypsy Woman.” Hiro Tsunoda has quite a track record, as before this he was in the Jacks and Food Brain, two of the great; and he went on to Flied Egg as well. Not sure what else Narumo was involved in, though.

If you’re into slightly old-school psychified rock, and folks like Food Brain, Flied Egg and the like are your speed, then you’ll certainly want to check this out.

Listen to “Spherical Illusion” by Strawberry Path.

U-ni Samadhi

Got some of the latest releases from Poseidon Records, and the one that made an immediate impression was Samadhi, by U-ni (from the Vital Records offshoot of Poseidon). The four tracks here are all extended guitar-focused voyages, totalling to 42 minutes. U-ni is Tatsuhiro Honmura, and here he plays guitar and bass through layers of delay. It made me think of A.R. & Machines to some extent, using delays to establish rhythms and riffs over which additional guitar and bass lines are placed. There’s also an obvious King Crimson connection (middle-era). “Akasatana (Remake)” opens with nearly six minutes of chugging bass pulse and crystal-clear guitar notes chiming in looping cadence; “Perception” is slower, with some nicely fuzzed guitar leads before it drops into cascading delayed guitar notes. “Samadhi” plies somewhat more ordinary routes, with a nice loping drum rhythm to it, and skilled, soaring leads. “Nirvana” finishes the album with a 20-minute epic, looping riffs and buzzing synths over a steady thumping beat, very space-bound.

If you’re into spacey krautrock like the aforementioned A.R. & Machines, or guitar-based prog that’s on the psych side, you should probably check this out. I’ll definitely look forward to more from U-ni.

Listen to “Akasatana” from Samadhi.

Suzuki Junzo (& Astro)

Tokyo-based guitarist Suzuki Junzo isn’t a very well-known name yet here in the U.S., but I’d hope that’s on the verge of changing. Through his own Plunk’s Plan label he’s self-released a number of CDRs. That includes the November.10.2001 album, which I got from him earlier this year. Recorded live at Tokyo’s Penguin House, it’s a deep, cavernous journey through damaged blues and stark emotional territory that certainly brings to mind folks like Loren Mazzacane Connors among others. It’s a man alone with his voice and his guitar, working things out in sound for himself and his audience.

Suzuki has collaborated with a wide range of other musicians and bands, including Makoto Kawabata (Acid Mother’s Temple), Overhang Party, Mitsuru Tabata (Zeni Geva, Amazon Saliva), Koji Shimura (Miminokoto, Acid Mother’s Temple, etc), Astral Travelling Unity, Nasca Car, and more. In March I got a copy of the amazing Astro & Suzuki Junzo Cosmic Blues Experience CD, packaged in a gorgeous DVD case with entirely psychedelic cover art. Recorded toward the end of 2006, the CD is three long tracks of utterly brain-swelling psychedelic drone and churn, fantastic stuff and highly recommended.

Listen to “Sorekuraino” from November.10.2001.

Listen to an excerpt from “Galactic Joy” from Cosmic Blues Experience.

Poseidon Records latest

Poseidon Records, home of most of Japan’s prog bands, sent over a couple of batches of CDs recently — too many to write them all up! But some highlights include the following. Check poseidon.jp for more details on all of these and many more.

Shinsekai’s self-titled CD comes packaged in a DVD-style case with a bonus flexi-disc, and the whole production is quite something. The four-piece band includes Yu Shimoda on keyboards of all kinds, including a Mellotron and Minimoog; Masaru Teramae on guitar and Tadashi Teramae on drums; and Akinobu Kajimoto on bass. The eight songs here are admirably to the point, totalling to only 37 minutes, though a couple do top six minutes in length. The band is in high gear much of the time, with swarming keyword and guitar lines dueling over suitably dense and complex rhythms. There’s no doubting the band’s technical prowess, but what makes it enjoyable is that they don’t wallow indulgently — the slower parts are pretty and don’t outweigh their welcome, while the faster parts rock out and have fun doing it. I have to admit that I also appreciate the fact that the band is instrumental. Good stuff.

Listen to “1000 Days Before part I” by Shinsekai.

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Naoki Ishida’s Fazing Redust has a mysterious title, and appropriately mysterious sounds as well. Information is slim, but it would seem that everything here is guitar and programmed electronics, but the quietly bubbling sounds are more often than not unidentifiable. Seems as though there might be some field recordings dropped in too, but it’s hard to say. Guitar strums, synthesized hummings, organ-like textures, sequenced tones, and odd little sounds populate these seven songs, with titles like “Evening Primrose,” “Tranquility Bug,” and “It Started Certainly In A Sense” (my favorite). The chirping birds in my backyard as I listened didn’t seem at all out of place. Very nice stuff. Visit kitten-recordz.com for more info (this is distributed by Poseidon).

Listen to “Tranquility Bug” by Naoki Ishida.

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Here’s another atypical entry, not exactly prog except that the crazy time signatures and techniques don’t really let the band fit anywhere else either. Salle Gaveau was formed in 2003 by notorious guitarist Natsuki Kido, known from his work with Bondage Fruit and many others. With Kita Naoki on violin, Sato Yoshiaki on accordion, Hayashi Masaki on piano, and Torigoe Keisuke on contrabass, you know immediately that isn’t any sort of a normal group.

In fact, Salle Gaveau are self-described melting pot of high-technique improvisation blending tango, polyrhythmic jazz, gypsy and eastern European styles, prog rock, and more. It’s pretty much impossible to accurately describe the band, and a listen to their album Alloy won’t even help, because it’s all over the place. This isn’t to say that the band is unfocused, because they’re not. It’s just that each song combines so many different elements that, while the music is internally consistent, it’s still impossible to say exactly what it is you’re hearing.

Visit Maboroshi no Sekai’s site for more info; this is distributed by Poseidon.

Listen to “Calcutta” by Salle Gaveau.

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Damn, Free Love kick out the jams here. The almost-six-minute opener, entitled “Kashmir,” is an odd mutation of the Zeppelin track and is just as heavy as the original. One of the nice things is that you can actually hear the bass, which is thick and really important to the overall weight of the playing. Ai Tatsuya, with drummer Atsushi Motohashi, lays down a super-solid rhythm section throughout. Hiroki Matsui’s organ and synth fill in the nooks and crannies, with Hiroaki Shibata’s guitar tastefully sprinkled across the songs. On the rock side of the prog house, or perhaps the other way around, this is some fun stuff.

The band stretches out, and sometimes embraces a bit of calm before the storm, but what’s fun here is that they seem happiest when it’s pedal-to-the-metal, blazing fuzz guitar leads, organ swells, bass and drums slamming away. The end of “Island” is a fine example, with the fantastic guitar leads over massed keys and a powerful rhythm.

Perhaps the closest comparison I can come to for Free Love is bands like the Warlocks or perhaps Nebula, psychedelic powerhouses, but Free Love aren’t afraid to throw in the prog rock twists and turns as well. Hell, “Maze of Psycho” even starts with a drum solo, so there you go. Enjoy. Visit the band’s web site for more info.

Listen to an excerpt from “Island” by Free Love.