Aquarius Records closed in 2016. This site is an archive — a place to rediscover their extraordinary music recommendations. Nothing here is for sale.
Showing results 1001 through 1050 of 1581.
MUTO, TAKESHISwollen Glances(Schematic)12"$ 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY. The first and latest Takeshi Muto singles ('Mud Dauber' being the second single on Schematic, now reissued) of compressed Black Dog inspired anti-funk, loaded with dark cybernetic modulations, computerized hip hop breaks, and ample digital skitter.
MYSTIC FUGU ORCHESTRAZohar(Tzadik)cd$ 11.98
This is John Zorn and "Yamantaka" Eye (Boredoms).
NAGATA, KAZUNAOThe World of Electric Sound 2: Live In Concert 1996-1997(Zero Gravity)cd$ 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY. [/cat/20thcenturycomposers9.html]
NAGISA NI TEDream Sounds(Jagjaguar)cd$ 14.98
Long-time followers of the Japanese naive-psych-pop duo known as Nagisa Ni Te may find the contents of this disc oh so slightly familiar, as these four (long) tracks are all re-recordings of Nagisa Ni Te classics taken from previous albums, redone for this collection: "True World", "Anxiety", "Me, On The Beach", and "True Sun". Dream Sounds is of course an apt title, as Nagisa Ni Te's music is certainly dreamlike. A perfect introduction if you haven't yet made their acquaintance (this is their sixth album, some of which have never been released over here, so it'll help catch you up), and a definite treat for fans as well. It's not just a "best of" (that would have to be waaay more than just four songs long!) and these tracks definitely differ from the originals, some of them extended quite a bit. Mellow psych-pop beauty, slow and languid, with delicate vocals and warmly fuzzed guitar solos, so good.
NAGISA NI TEFeel(Jagjaguwar)cd$ 13.98
Disappointed with that crappy new Neil Young album? Try this instead! This is the fourth record (and first domestic release!) from the Osaka psychedelic folk duo of Shinji Shibayama and Masako Takeda. Scotland's Geographic label recently issued a great 'best of' Nagisa Ni Te compilation called "Songs For A Simple Moment" that we've sold quite a few of (reviewed on list 127) so maybe you do already know 'em. The material on "Feel" is newer than anything on that comp, though. This album, with its crisp production quality, intensifies the fragility of Takeda's voice and the overall outsider artist naivetÈ of Nagisa Ni Te. Though it's not a major part of their sound here, you should be aware that this features brief moments of extended electric guitar wank, as with most Japanese artists in the psych vein. Of course, that's one of the things we LIKE about Nagisa Ni Te (and you'll find lots more of that Neil Young-ish guitar stuff on the compilation). But "Feel" generally refrains from cranking up the volume like that. Beautiful and minimalist atmospherics add depth and a visual element to their lyrically melancholic lullabies of hazy reminiscence and love lost. The beautiful photographs (taken by both Shibayama and Takeda) which accompany "Feel" evoke the spirit of spring and feelings of renewal. The music itself however, also reminds us of its bitter breeze and what has passed. Shinji and Masako are joined on several of "Feel"'s tracks by guests including Seiichi Yamamoto (of Boredoms/Omoide Hatoba/Rovo) and Tim Barnes (Tower Recordings).
NAGISA NI TEOn The Love Beach(Jagjaguar)cd$ 14.98
Jagjaguar scores major points with us by reissuing here in the USA yet another of the albums by wonderful Japanese outsider-folk-psych duo Nagisa Ni Te. They've previously brought us the band's more recent album "Feel", and now they delve into the past to make 1995's "On The Love Beach" available at a non-import price. Lovely, folky, sunny-yet-melancholic psychedelic pop rock. If you like Ghost, or Neil Young, or Nagisa Ni Te's pals Maher Shalal Hash Baz -- or even the mellower stuff by Acid Mothers Temple -- this band ought to please you greatly. Their songs are works of fragile beauty, with innocent-sounding Japanese vocals, acoustic strumming, and lilting melodies. There's some fuzz bass here, some tuba there, and some shimmering guitar feedback when needed. The liner notes include English translations of Nagisa Ni Te's cryptic love-song lyrics. If you're not already hip to Nagisa Ni Te, there's also a "best of/rarities" comp out on the Geographic label you should be aware of, called "Songs For A Simple Moment". You can read our review of that disc for more background on the band, and that collection would be a good starting point, although both Jagjaguar reissues are equally fine introductions to the band -- all are certainly recommended!
NAGISA NI TESongs For A Simple Moment(Geographic)cd$ 15.98
"Songs For A Simple Moment" is an introduction to the musical world of Shinji Shibayama. Since 1992 Nagisa Ni Te has released four records of honest, fragile psychedelic folk. With ties to Maher Shalal Hash Baz, whose members have at one time or another With a revolving host of guest musicians, the core of Nagisa Ni Te centers on Shibayama and his partner Masako Takeda. Drummer Ikuro Takahashi, most recently of Fushitsusha, had once been a major part of the lineup, but has recently, mysteriously retired from music altogether. But that's another story... In the Japanese psych underground, there is a strange coexistence of feedback/noise and earnest, heartfelt acoustic folk. Nagisa Ni Te embrace both aspects and combine the two at times. Think a more naive version of Tim Buckley or Neil Young. And if you're at all familiar with the brittle psychedelia of Shizuka, or the primitive guitar feedback freakout of the obscure '70s psych gods Les Rallizes Dénudés, you will definitely want to venture forth. From the fragility and innocence of "Star" and "They" to the shattering, feedback drenched Rallizesesque live rendition of the twenty minute epic "The True Sun", this comes highly recommended as an introduction, and is a great companion to the growing output of Nagisa Ni Te! (Even if you're already a fan and have their Japanese import cds, you'll probably want this for the rare/unreleased/live tracks included.)
NAGISA NI TEThe Same As A Flower(Jagjaguwar)cd$ 14.98
Another lovely outing (their fifth album, if we've counted correctly) by one of our favorite bands from the Japanese indie-psych underground. While the duo of Shinji Shibayama and Masako Takeda have had their moments of Neil Young/Les Rallizes Denudes style slash-and-burn guitar storm in the past, with this album (and their previous disc Feel) they've been concentrating more on the quiet, mellow, melodic side of psychedelia... This is some ever so wistful, slow-moving, "heartfelt folk music" that features the sweet, sad voices of both Shinji and Masako singing their fragile tunes over a backing of strum and shimmer. Various guests augment the core Nagisa Ni Te duo, with sundry instruments employed, including electric and acoustic guitars, bass, mandolin, organ, electric piano, glockenspiel, mellotron, percussion, and such oddities as "backwards cymbal", "uncertain piano" and "electric desert guitar" (that's what it says the liner notes, which also provide English language translations for the band's Japanese lyrics). We said sad voices above, but really much of this expresses hope -- Nagisa Ni Te are a springtime band with memories of winter. So very pretty, lazy Sunday afternoon listening for fans of the softer Pastels, Belle & Sebastian, Ghost, and Maher Shalal Hash Baz sort of thing...
NAGISA NI TEThe True World(P-Vine)2cd$ 35.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
NAGISA NI TEYosuga(Jagjaguwar)cd$ 15.98
We've always been big fans of the warm and shimmery sounds of this great Japanese psych-pop outfit but somehow their new album is making us fall in love with them all over again and it's proving to be quite possibly their best outing yet! We love how the band are able to evoke those hard to describe lingering moments on lazy Sunday afternoons, or the feeling of walking along the pier as the sun slightly reflects against the slow moving waves and all your other thoughts just fade away. Tapping into the great tradition of Japanese psych-folk/pop that folks like Melting Glass Box and Happy End first explored in the '70s, and even reminding us at times of that great Milton Nascimento record Clube Da Esquina that we gushed about last list. As always we hear the influence of the dreamy passages of Neil Young records, especially On The Beach, which we've been listening to immediately after this record pretty much every single Sunday since Yosuga came out. Highly recommended!
NAKAMURA, TOSHIMARUNo-Input Mixing Board(Zero Gravity)cd$ 18.98
This Japanese electronic music experimentalist's new solo disc (last AQ-L we reviewed his recent collaboration with Sachiko M) on the always-interesting and handsomely packaged Zero Gravity label. No-Input Mixing Board's title accurately describes Nakamura's
NAKAMURA, TOSHIMARUNo-Input Mixing Board 2(A Bruit Secret)cd$ 15.98
Along with part-time collaborator Sachiko M, Toshimaru Nakamura positions his work in the Japanese movement known as "onkyo" which translates as "the reverberation of sound." Nakamura emphasizes the texture of sound through the manipulation of a restricted
NAKAMURA, TOSHIMARUVehicle(Cubic Music)cd$ 15.98
More glitch follies from Japanese electronic composer Toshimaru Nakamura and his now-famous No-Input Mixing Board! Utilizing "internal feedback" from looping the input and output of a mixing board through itself. More active that the near-silence of many other "onkyo" efforts from Nakamura and his contemporaries, each of the nine tracks here are full of abstract throbbing buzzing sounds. Some tumble along, approximating minimalist Chain Reaction style "techno" "beats". Others drone and hiss without any rhythmic structure at all. With these fluttering bleeps and crinkly soundscapes, Nakamura has crafted another compelling, sometimes even pretty, album for those interested in the strange, defective-sounding sounds of "empty" electronic equipment. MPEG Download: "nimb#37" [/audio/nakamuranimb37.mp3] MPEG Stream: "nimb#37" [/audio/nakamuranimb37.m3u]
NAKAMURA, TOSHIMARU / SACHIKO MDo(Erstwhile)cd$ 15.98
The second release by this duo after a disc on Meme, presents true "sinecore" sounds for fans of barely-there abstract electronics. We're told that these Japanese artists are part of a new experimental electronica subgenre called "onkyo", which
NAMBAJAZZThe Gun(Doubt Music)cd$ 16.98
We just got a few new titles in from Japan's Doubtmusic label, which specializes in the outer margins of "jazz" and other avant garde sounds. This one is perhaps of particular interest to underground Japanese music freeks as it's a duo that features none other than guitarist Yamamoto Seiichi, of Boredoms, Omoide Hatoba, and Rovo fame, among many projects. His partner in crime is percussionist Yoshigaki Yasuhiro (from Ground Zero, Altered States, Rovo, ONJO, and others). These guys are old pros when it comes to making an awesome, interesting racket. As you'd expect, it's a disc of somewhat splattery skronk - but quite listenable by skronk standards! There's a certain sort of catchy, chaotic logic to this duo's jittery, jumbled improvs, all performed live, the ten tracks here selected from several Nambajazz shows for this hour-long disc. Some subtle and moody, others utter stompers. Frantic this can be, but also foot-tappin'. Those looking for tangled, heavy-duty Takayanagi style blowouts need look no further than track 3 to get their ears peeled back. Amped-up guitar mayhem and octopoidal bashing in full effect! Elsewhere, the duo's music, led by Yamamoto's innovative and invigorating guitar playing (and "misc."), takes lots of other surprising twists and turns... ferinstance, track 9, "Ten-Kwaurou" ("An Air Corridor"), works in a bit more melody, even snatches of some classical pieces, in the midst of a satisfyingly shambolic, mathrock workout. Definitely one for any fan of Yamamoto's out-guitar stylings, as well as Zornophiles, Improvised Music From Japan subscribers, Boredoms nerds, etc... you know who you are....!
NANJO, ASAHITO GROUP MUSICAContemporary Kagura-Metaphysics(Fractal)cd$ 21.00
In addition to the great Toho Sara album Hourouurin we reviewed here last time, there's been another new Nanjo Asahito (also of High Rise, Mainliner, Musica Transonic...) and Kawabata Makoto (also of Acid Mothers Temple, Mainliner, Musica Transonic...) project recently released on the French Fractal label -- something called Contemporary Kagura-Metaphysics from Nanjo's Group Musica. What's that? Well the notes on the cd's back cover say the following, in part: "Group Musica is an ensemble that pursues the free use of every type of Western and Eastern musical instrument, is propelled by the vibrations of very subtle rhythms, and that has internalized the methodology of minimalism. The concept behind this album is transform Kagura, an ancient form of Japanese music and dance that was performed for the gods, and is to convert the ideas of 'Secret teachings' and ancient Chinese methods of divination (the I-Ching) into a metaphysics of musical vibrations. The concept of Kagura allows Group Musica to create a unique work that is an experimental symphonic composition, which nonetheless has many rich improvisatory elements. In this unique work, the symbolic/philosophical nature of ancient esotericism is incorporated as improvisation, while the I-Ching is related to avant-garde symphonics. These are then fused into a total concept." OK, got that? We're also told the many musicians involved must remain anonymous for Group Musica is a "total entity". Not sure how that squares with Nanjo's name being emblazoned on the cover, but after all he's the conductor (with help from Kawabata in the structuring and arranging of the music). And what does all this sound like? Well, how 'bout fake 20th century classical improv? With four long tracks of abstract interplay of horns and percussive clatter and woodwinds and so forth, this is kind of like the endless tuning session of a somewhat drunken orchestra... the Taj Mahal Travellers and the Thai Elephants teaming up at the symphony? Sometimes dramatic, often droning, very loose!
NAR, HIROSHI WITH NISHINIHONs/t(Lexicon Devil)cd$ 16.98
One guy from '70s Japanese psych legends Les Rallizes Denudes (not leader Mizutani Takashi, but one of the other guys, Hiroshi Nar) takes it to the stage again, backed by an Acid Mothers Temple side-project, the boogie crew known as Nishinihon, who as the back cover states are quite adept at creating the "illusion of old-fashioned hard rock". And with Hiroshi Nar's help they do, if your notion of old-fashioned hard rock is all about screaming guitars and psychedelic effects excess. Recorded live in Japan at a club called Mushroom on December 15th 2001, this supposedly limited cd release features four songs (or splurges of rock action), three of them written by Hiroshi Nar, one by bassist/vocalist Tsuyama Atsushi. Anyone into the most blown-out Acid Mothers Temple stuff ought to investigate! AMT/Nishinihon guitarist Kawabata Makoto does his best to keep up with Rallizes dude Nar, doubtless thrilled to be jamming with someone from that so-influential though obscure outfit.
NARITA, MUNEHIROEther(aRCHIVE)cd$ 13.98
From the label devoted to attractive unusual packaging, limited edition runs, and way-underground psych/drone artists, comes a solo electric guitar album from Japan's Munehiro Narita, best known as the axe-meister from heavy-duty Tokyo psych legends High Rise. Forty endless exploratory minutes of freaked out freeform feedback and distortion sculpting, recorded at two live dates in 2005 and 2006 but sounding decades older, really, like a wailing '60s psych rock guitar hero going totally over the top -- basically y'know what this sounds like? Jimi Hendrix doing his infamous take on the Star Spangled Banner. That sort of thing. Which of course is cool. LIMITED TO 600 COPIES!
NARITA, MUNEHIROs/t(PSF)cd$ 21.00
Fans of the heavy duty Japanese psych guitar action might have noticed the lack of releases from Tokyo's High Rise in recent years -- the last thing we got was a "best of" that came out three years ago. But that doesn't mean that the High Rise guys have all gone into retirement, even if the band itself is on hiatus. Bassist Nanjo keeps busy, as he always has, with various Acid Mothers Temple-associated outfits, and guitarist Munehiro Narita also continues to threaten the public's eardrums in the free jazz inspired duo Kyoaku No Intention with drummer Shoij Hano. And now, Narita gives the fans what they really want with his debut solo album! That's right, over an hour of guitar and nothing but from the wah-master himself (plus, on two of the the four tracks here he's joined by another likeminded guitarist, Ueno Takashi of Aihiyo and Maher Shalal Hash Baz). Stepping back from some (but not all) of the "speed freak" wildness and utter in-the-red distortion of his soloing in High Rise for extended, slowed-down explorations of deeply felt, carefully crafted abstract improv psych guitar sound, Narita demonstrates his guitar's capacity for freedom and expression and originality, and sonically echoes this cd's lovely and precise black (mostly black) and white design. Impressive.
NARITA, MUNEHIRO & SHOJI HANOKyoaku No Intention(PSF)cd$ 19.98
High Rise axeman Munehiro Narita (known as King of Japanese Speed Freak Guitarist Heavy Motor Cycle Free Sound according to his website!) here teams up with Japanese free jazz drummer (and sometime Mainliner skinbeater, also fresh off another PSF-released
NAZORANAIThe Most Painful Time Happens Only Once Has it Arrived Already..?(Ideologic Organ)cd$ 16.98
Elsewhere this list (and last) you'll find the SUNNO))) + Scott Walker collaboration, while this album is the 2nd effort to see half of the SUNNO))) duo teamed up with Japanese psych shaman Keiji Haino. We're hoping that this somehow means that we'll soon see a Scott Walker + Keiji Haino team-up, too... There's not too many degrees of separation left, c'mon! But, that's not what this review is about. It's about the sophomore outing from the in-and-of-itself awesome Nazoranai trio, featuring guitarist/vocalist Haino, bassist Stephen O'Malley of SUNNO))), and on percussion, the ubiquitous Oren Ambarchi - who plays with Haino in another trio also well, with Jim O'Rourke instead of O'Malley. O'boy, these guys do like each other for dance partners, recall also that recently Ambarchi and O'Malley got together with Randall Dunn, too... Anyway, we super duper dug the 1st Nazoranai, as did a lot of you, it's gone out of print (too bad if you missed it) but this is a fine follow-up, again allowing (as if there was any choice) Keiji Haino's musical personality/aesthetic to take the fore: ultra intense dark psychedelic out-rock improv, made all the darker and heavier by the presence of O'Malley, as you can imagine. As usual with anything Haino related, the track titles are long and cryptic, starting with "You Should Look Closely Those Shattered Spells Never Attaining Embodiment As Prayer They Are Born Here Again" (whew!) and the tracks are long, too (that one approaches 19 minutes). All four cuts here are fairly heavy and harrowing, featuring plenty of grinding droning guitars (abetted by some synth played by Haino too). Ambarchi's drums skitter and shake, Haino offers up the gut wrenched vocal lamentations like nobody else, and O'Malley keeps the bottom end solidly way, way down in the abyss. The rapport these three possess is evident, and emotive, whether whilst bringing the freeform freakout action to a boil, or when they lock into more structured passages - as on the album's final cut and title track, another 19-minute epic, that rides a lurching, repetitive rhythm reminding us of some of Haino's legendary band Fushitsusha's 'rockier' moments. Needless to say, recommended to all with fearless ears, poetic hearts and/or sorrowful souls. MPEG Stream: "You Should Look Closely Those Shattered Spells Never Attaining Embodiment As Prayer They Are Born Here Again" [/audio/nazoraniyoushould.m3u]
NEMOTO, SHINOBUImprovisations #1(Experimedia)cd-r$ 10.98
This Japanese guitarist would have been much better off calling this record anything other than Improvisations #1. To be fair, these five extended pieces of drone smolder are technically improvised, but they sure as hell do not sound like the improvisations of Keiji Haino, Tetuzi Akiyama, Masayuki Takayanagi or any other giants of Japanese improv guitar bruitism. Shinobu's work recalls much more of the post-shoegazing excursions that you would get from Explosions In The Sky, Tarentel (circa From Bone To Satellite), and even some of Machinefabriek's constructions. As we mentioned, Shinobu does technically improvise each of these tracks, although it might be better stated that be records these pieces in single takes, collecting loops through his arsenal of pedals and layering them into these architecturally dense mounds of compacted fuzz, drone, and noise all blurred into a beautifully shoegazing atmosphere. The first track builds a warm enveloping haze on top of which Shinobu plops a rich piece of slide guitar work, that gives this track train-chugging-through-desert-valley-at-sunset type of cinematic scope. The second piece takes a slightly darker arc that billows with bioluminescence and distantly mechanoid pulsations. Again, Shinobu continues darker still throughout the album with the ensuing tracks, as the guitars become more spectral, more laced with shadow, and heavier on the low end frequencies. Here, you'll find more references to Troum or Aidan Baker, in terms of a darker take on the ambience. With the fourth track, Shinobu brightens everything with a guitar driven variation on the Gas / Pop Ambient sound that's very, very nice. Afterwards, the darkened murk and shadow returns on the finale, a majestically black piece of ambience. So so cold. Experimedia has been turning up some pretty amazing artists from around the world that previously we had never heard of, and this album is certainly one of the gems in their increasingly prolific catalogue of releases. Limited to 150 copies!!!
NERVE NET NOISEDark Garden(Intransitive)cd$ 14.98
NERVE NET NOISEMeteor Circuit(Intransitive Recordings)cd$ 14.98
Japanese duo Nerve Net Noise, with previous releases on Meme, Zero Gravity, and Hronir, make the sort of experimental electronic "music" that really separates the men from the boys (or, shall we say, the insane noise geeks from everyone else). But while Tsuyoshi "Tagomago" Nakamaru (who handles the mix and effects) and Hiroshi Kumakiri (who builds NNN's unique synthesizers) are from Japan, this *isn't* howling vacuum cleaner grinding shrieking death noise in the tradition of Merzbow/Hijokaidan/Masonna/etc. Rather, it's closer in style to the clicks n' cuts of Ryoki Ikeda and the "empty" sine wave pulses of Sachiko M. Some call it "onkyo" music. How about we call it squeaky toy, modem on the fritz, annoying buzzer going off music? Yep, it's still room-clearing stuff, y'know. Indeed, it was hard to review, 'cause my co-workers kept yelling at me to turn it off!! But to NNN's ears, this is beautiful music. From Kumakiri's liner notes: "At first, Nerve Net Noise enjoyed pure sound. These days, we try to think about music. We aspire to create music that is between played and not-played, between controlled and uncontrolled. We feel that consciously performed music can have too much evidence of human planning. But we also dislike random music that displays no evidence of human planning at all. We try to find a satisfying middle area with our albums." Well, that's an uncommon idea of "music", now isn't it!? But it explains a lot about how this album sounds. Basically, Kumakiri's array of homemade synths are switched on and allowed to make the noises they want to make, while the NNN duo tweak the volume and so forth, affecting the sounds and rhythms. When they're happy with what they're hearing, they record the results. It's kind of a Metal Machine Music concept. Imagine a nest of robotic birds, mechanically, repetitively chirping at one another, slowly building into patterns and rhythms that will drill themselves into your brain, causing either the euphoria of a trepanation (if you're into it) or simply the pain of such. But it's clear that the former is the intention. These guys aren't trying to make assaultive music for masochists -- they just hear things differently from most folks. For instance, we suspect they'd hear the beauty inherent in a malfunctioning car alarm. If you want to open *yourself* up to this realm of sound-appreciation, then "Meteor Circuit" wouldn't be a bad place to start -- just don't expect your co-workers, housemates, family, etc. to enjoy it! (Is it perverse to like this stuff? 'Cause some of us here have more than one NNN cd in our collections...)
NERVE NET NOISEVarious Amusements(Hronir / Staalplaat )cd$ 14.98
"Various Amusements" by the Japanese glitch / onkyo / minimalist ensemble Nerve Net Noise was billed to us as an electronic meditation on the common activities of teenage girl's afternoon, such as shopping, talking on the phone, putting on make up,
NETOEnumeration De Zamvoli / Mouille Reve De Caravoli(Lust Vessel)cassette$ 21.00
It's very rare indeed to see any of the cassettes from Lust Vessel, that being an imprint that has released some of exemplary, and very limited, pieces of obscurant industrial noise over the past decade. The quality of Lust Vessel's curation (not to mention the scarcity) has lent a cult status to the operation as well as its proprietor, a character who goes by the name Lily Vice. Many of the projects from Lust Vessel emerge only to release one or two things on Lust Vessel and then vanish into the bowels of Tokyo. Neto seems to be one of those Japanese mysteries, with this cassette being the first and only recording available, with no additional context whatsoever. It's a suitably fucked-up collage of violent acoustic scrapings, nauseating varispeed tape-loops, sicktone rumblings, ugly blurts of feedback, hellish descents of horror-film screams, and decentered turntable cutups all unravelling in a slow-process of self-disintegration. It's not far from the tempestuous tape constructions of early Le Syndicat or the rough hewn collages of Christian Marclay had he made things that were very ill-tempered and psychologically unhinged. This does come with a set of small prints that don't fit in the plastic cassette case, as is common with all of the Lust Vessel catalog. Already sold out at the source.
NEUMEIER, MANI & KAWABATA MAKOTOSamurai Blues(Bureau B)cd$ 17.98
NEW MIMINOKOTOAll About Mimi(PSF)cd$ 16.98
New Miminokoto, same as the old Miminokoto? Kinda! And that's a good thing, if you're a fan of the Japanese psych underground and this particular manifestation of the "Tokyo Flashback" vibe, Miminokoto both new and old being one of those bands, like LSD-march, Up-Tight, and Suisho No Fune, in the glorious distortodelic tradition of '70s masters/mysteries Les Rallizes Denudes... Yet, it's not it's not the quite same, as the old Miminokoto, 'cause lead guitar wrangler and vocalist Masami Kawaguchi has left the band (forming his own "New Rock Syndicate"). To replace him, they recruited Suzuki Junzo, formerly of Overhang Party, a Tokyo psych scene vet who has no problem at all slipping into the role of New Miminokoto frontman, bringing his own dark aura to bear on guitar and vocals, alongside the bass of Nishimura Takuya and the drums of Shimura Koji (ex-White Heaven). Recorded last year, this release is also actually not all that "new", we've been wanting to list this for a while, just finally got enough of 'em in stock direct from Japan, and can now say: get it, it's great! Gorgeous stuff, when they get mellow, and gorgeous too when all amps are set on 10. There are indeed plenty of languidly paced mellow meanders, as well as fuzz-filled blow-outs, dense and devastating. And even at their loudest, Miminokoto manage to be quite mesmerically melodic, as they do during the more gentle shimmering sections of this set as well. The seven tracks here include two fantastic covers of songs by the late Kaneko Jutok of Kousokuya (another long time Tokyo psych institution, a la Fushitsusha). They utterly fit the Miminokoto vibe, of course. Another vibe we're getting here is that of Neil Young, maybe it's 'cause we've been listening to his heavy new one, Le Noise... there's probably a lot of people who'll pick up that new Neil (also reviewed this list, and recommended) who'll never ever hear, nor hear of, Miminokoto... but we bet they'd like this, as long as the language thing doesn't get in the way for 'em. Sure, you don't know what Suzuki is singing about (only one title is given in English, "Wrong Distance", which is kind of clever) but it doesn't matter. The emotion in his voice - not to mention the emotion cranking through the guitar amps - conveys enough! This has been a go-to late-night listen for us ever since it showed up...
NEW ROCK SYNDICATEFrom The Dream(Purifiva)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.
SORRY.
NI HAO!Gorgeous(Tzadik)cd$ 15.98
Featuring the singer from Limited Express (Has Gone?), Ni Hao! is an all-girl Japanese art-rock trio: two on bass, one on drums, all of 'em on vocals. Lots and lots of vocals, in complex arrangements. The whole shebang is quite energetic and precise, and should appeal to fans of Limited Express and Ex-Girl. Includes a spirited cover of the Ramones' "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?" and also three bonus computer-only video interview clips with each of the band members (in Japanese with English subtitles).
NIJIUMUEra of Sad Wings(PSF)cd$ 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
NISENNENMONDAIDestination Tokyo(Smalltown Supersound)cd$ 16.98
Last year the Smalltown Supersound label clued a lot of lucky listeners outside of Japan into the wonders of the all-girl, uber rhythmic skronk rock groop Nisennenmondai, by reissuing the trio's Tori and Neji eps together on one cd (Heartworm then doing an lp version). That sure whet our appetite for more, and here it is! Destination Tokyo starts off with a real choo-choo train of a track, "Souzousuru Neji", the crazy choo-choo threatening to go off the rails, propelled by nervous no wavey percussive jitter, feedback scraping around the edges of the beat. It's super repetitive, incessant, awesome. Part This Heat, part Liquid Liquid, part Children Coup d'Etat (a Japanese avant-rock band from the '90s, anyone remember 'em? We mention them 'cause of what sounds like a violin in the mix here). The track builds and builds for about 13 minutes, the bass pulsations protruding, the beats pounding harder, the whole thing getting denser and denser, intensifying until the sudden stop on a dime suck the air out of the room ending at about the 13 minute mark. Whew. Though then the Nisennenmondai girls pick it up again right quick with the chicken scratch groove of "Disco", another seemingly endless build up. That's their formula, and we sure dig it! Relentless high-hat, chiming and chirping guitars, layered and looping... On this full-length, Nisennenmondai's music is still mostly instrumental (with the exception of the brief, a capella babytalk of track 3, "Miraabouru") but is presented with quite a bit LESS noise and distortion than on those two early eps, Nisennenmondai this time going for more of a spare, skeletal, minimalist sound, though still one that effortlessly builds and builds and builds to juggernaut proportions. It is much more "dancefloor" friendly, with song titles like "Disco" and "Mirrorball", not to mention the cover art, that must be the intention, but in a very motorik, krautrocky way. While "Souzousuru Neji" is probably the heaviest cut here, at the opposite end of the disc, the kosmiche synth wooshes and melodic loveliness that adorn the final, title track display Nisennenmondai at their calmest and krautrockiest, it's definitely one for fans of Neu! and Harmonia and the like. Heck this track could be Circle or Salvatore, playing at an ambient airport with planes and helicopters blissfully buzzing around. What is not to love???!
NISENNENMONDAIN(Blast First Petite)cd$ 17.98
Motorik Japanese all-female trio Nisennenmondai are back, with a disc that takes the skeletal, minimalist 'choo-choo-choo' sounds of their previous outing, 2009's Destination Tokyo, to a stripped-down extreme. (They've stripped down the titles, too.) Eschewing a lot of variation, they really just lock in and go with the groove here. With standard rock instrumentation, they play what sounds like electronic music - they're an extra-tight 'live' techno band essentially, not unlike Austria's Electro Guzzi (who have a new album, Observatory, we'll be reviewing soon, too). These three long instrumental tracks of purely rhythmic attack are all tck-tck-tck, scht-scht-scht, thup-thup-thup... Ultra repetitive, up tempo percussive jitter that's sleek and steady, subtle yet urgent, constantly building up the mysterious, nervous energy. Based around live 'loops' of snare hits and bass beats, what sound like Morse code blips and Giger counter clicks, it's a brooding sort of thumping techno, with shimmering shoegaze guitars around the edges, distorted and echo-effected, creating quite a mesmeric & mekanikal, noirish mood. Sort of sounds like Circle playing a rave, really! (And we'd LOVE to experience this live!) Considerably compelling as far as we're concerned, and also kinda curious coming from a band who once upon a time sounded a lot like Sonic Youth and Deerhoof, though they've always been about the repetitive trance-induction, they've just honed that aspect and dialed back on their former noisy no-waveisms.
NISENNENMONDAIN'(Blast First Petite)12"$ 19.98
Motorik Japanese all-female trio Nisennenmondai's most recent album, N, took the skeletal, minimalist 'choo-choo-choo' sounds of their previous outing, 2009's Destination Tokyo, to a stripped-down extreme. Eschewing a lot of variation, they really just lock in and go with the groove. With standard rock instrumentation, they play what sounds like electronic music - they're an extra-tight 'live' techno band essentially, not unlike Austria's Electro Guzzi. N came out last summer, on cd only (which is currently backordered and possibly out of print). But now, for vinyl folks, and especially DJ types, Blast First has put out a 12" vinyl version, called N'. The tracks here are apparently re-recordings/re-workings of cuts from the N cd proper, but our description of those still holds: long instrumental tracks of purely rhythmic attack that are all tck-tck-tck, scht-scht-scht, thup-thup-thup... Ultra repetitive, up tempo percussive jitter that's sleek and steady, subtle yet urgent, constantly building up the mysterious, nervous energy. Based around live 'loops' of snare hits and bass beats, what sound like Morse code blips and Giger counter clicks, it's a brooding sort of thumping techno, with shimmering shoegaze guitars around the edges, distorted and echo-effected, creating quite a mesmeric & mekanikal, noirish mood. Sort of sounds like Circle playing a rave, really! (And we'd LOVE to experience this live!) Considerably compelling as far as we're concerned, and also kinda curious coming from a band who once upon a time sounded a lot like Sonic Youth and Deerhoof, though they've always been about the repetitive trance-induction, they've just honed that aspect and dialed back on their former noisy no-waveisms. (Note: the sound samples below are from the original cd, not this vinyl version.)
NISENNENMONDAITori / Neji(Smalltown Supersound)cd$ 16.98
Yay! It's pretty cool that Norway's Smalltown Supersound has put this out, a disc collecting two previously released (in Japan only) eps by this Japanese all-girl avant-rock unit. We'd found out about this band a while back, and had wanted to stock their stuff, but sometimes importing cds from Japan is a daunting task. So our procrastination paid off, as now we have this handy disc, easily available. (It's also pretty cool that the Heartworm Press label has also just issued this on vinyl!) So what's the deal with this band? A mostly instrumental guitar/bass/drums trio who are psychedelically skronky, generating massive walls of distortion underpinned by propulsive no-waveisms. They're not a Japanese "noise" band like Merzbow or Hijokaidan, but certainly get plenty noisy. We could compare 'em at times to the likes of Afrirampo, Lightning Bolt, Melt Banana, Deerhoof, (early) Blonde Redhead... actually Nisennenmodai makes the reviewer's task a bit easier by naming several of the tracks of the Neji ep (2004) which begins this disc after some of their musical heroes, which to a degree they emulate: "Pop Group", "This Heat", "Sonic Youth". The "This Heat" track definitely has the nervous tension and percussive percolations we love about that band, whereas "Pop Group" is ultra-angular and extra-noisy... The Tori ep (2005) that occupies the second half of this collection continues those themes - in fact, they do one of Neji's songs again, the densely rhythmic "Ikkkyokume", probably a signature track for the band as it so well represents their trance-inducing intensity, love of volume and minimalist song structure. Tori's first track "Kyuukohan" is tightly wound, repetitive number full of crashing cymbals, chiming guitar, and bass throb... building, building, building relentlessly to a massive climax. The next song, "Kyaaaaaa", incorporates yelping vocal shrieks and even more noisy feedback guitar. And so it goes, getting ever noisier, more throbbingly repetitive, a distorted, enthralling onslaught of explosive splatter/scatter rock indeed! We'd love to see 'em live someday, apparently there's crazy costumes and stuff, but that seems hardly necessary given the sheer energy of their music. The limited double LP version is a handsome gatefold, on white vinyl. It's already sold out at the label, apparently we got their very last copies... act fast!
NISHINIHONs/t(Gyuune )cd$ 21.00
Freaked out Japanese hard rock supergroup, a '70s inspired power trio featuring the talents of million-notes-per-second, whammy-bar-crazy guitarist Kawabata Makoto (of Acid Mothers Temple, Musica Transonic, Mainliner, Toho Sara, etc. etc.),
NIWAI & I Harmonic Odyssey(Inoxia)cd$ 19.98
Japan's Niwa used to be known as Choukoku No Niwa, and you might know that name from a split release entitled More Echoes, Touching Air Landscape they shared with AQ-faves Boris a while back. We'd been wondering ever since what had happened to the mysterious Choukoku No Niwa, whose psychedelic tribal Amon Duulish thwump made their half of that split every bit as good as that of Boris. What we know know, is that they shortened their name and recently released this new album, a 69 minute spaced-out trance-bliss trip of ocean-deep, fx-laden psych rock with gently pulsing rhythms, some drifting female vocals, and much dubby droning. Real nice, stoned groove, a little bit slick perhaps but certainly well-produced. And don't get the wrong idea from the Boris connection -- this is ain't a bit heavy, not at all. Plenty of bass, yes, definitely super mellow -- that's even a song title here: "Mellow", a reggaefied number halfway through the disc. Other song titles like "Warm Rain", "Sunset Swell" and "Moon Flower" should to give you an idea of the laid-back, hippyish vibe that this floats along upon. It's kinda like Hanadensha meets Circle or Salvatore, or zoned out Boredoms on the beach...
NMPERIGN44'33"/5(Twisted Village)cd$ 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY. Spare, cacophonous improv trio of trumpet, sax and percussion. From Boston, but with both downtown New York and downtown (?) Tokyo credentials.
NOAHLEWIS' MAHLON TAITSSix Pieces For Dancing(EM Records)cd$ 17.98
We mentioned in the past that EM records just might be our favorite new record label. They also have pretty much clinched the title of MOST CONFUSINGLY ECLECTIC RECORD LABEL EVER. Their catalog is massive, but even just looking at only the discs we've reviewed so far, your head will spin and your ears will spew smoke just like those old cartoons. Let's see, so far we've got freaked out sixties free jazz, musical saws, space age exotica, cut up tape birdsong symphonies, bizarre seventies psychedelic krautrock (from the USA), lost Australian dub, experimental tape music and of course MORE AND MORE SAWS. What the heck is it with the musical saw? EM Records (and Japanese music fans in general) seem to have an inordinate love of the singing saw. It's easy to see why though. A high keening lonesome wail that imbues whatever music it's accompanying with a ghostly, old timey, dreamlike, melancholy vibe. This record from the bizarrely named Noahlewis' Mahlon Taits is not some recently discovered, unearthed 78 rpm record from the thirties or forties, some dusty old scratched up slab of wax, stashed in the bottom of an old trunk in the basement of some house in the country for the last 8 decades. Although it does definitely sound like it. Nope. Noahlewis' Mahlon Taits are a modern ensemble, channeling musical ghosts and sonic spirits through an eclectic array of old time instruments, weaving, dreamlike, otherworldly soundscapes of old time jazz and slow smoldering ballads, warm and warbly, just like listening to some scratchy old 78, but performed live. Brings to mind the band on some doomed ocean liner, the bar band at that mysterious bar at the end of the world. People are sitting in corners, heads held low in dark booths, couples slow dancing, a row of regulars slouched over the bar. Very cinematic and atmospheric. Flutes and violas, guitar, accordion, piano, cello, shuffling jazz drums, banjo and ukulele, and of course musical saw. The fiddles creak and keen, pianos tinkle, the cellos and violas weave soft fluttering backgrounds, melodies are dimly lit and drift wraithlike through the smoky jazzscapes, there are even a few moments of blurping jug music, but above it all is the singing saw. Its haunting theremin-like siren song soaring one moment, whispering and shimmering the next. So totally lovely. Six Pieces For Dancing immediately transports you to another time, another world, it's like stepping into some old tattered photograph, straightening your ascot and top hat, handing the doorman your cane and overcoat, grabbing a drink and heading out to the dancefloor, just as the band in the corner starts up again. So cool!
NOISE RAMONESRocket To D.N.A.(Dual Plover)cd$ 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY. Dedicated fans of Japan's Boredoms will guess that with a name like "Noise Ramones" this disc must in fact be a Boredoms side-project...and indeed it's the work of "Eye-Ramone" and "P-P-Ramone" (aka Eye and Yoshimi). And anybody will guess that with a name like "Noise Ramones" this is...noise! A la Eye's Hanatarash project in fact, but not as physical. High-pitched chattering electronics.
NORDNG Tapes(PCP Records)lp$ 21.00
Nord began in 1979 as a minimal electronics / drone-on industrial project for Hiroshi Oikawa and Katayama Satoshi. They only recorded one album together -- their eponymous 1981 release on the Pinakotheca imprint - before they parted ways, but each of them used the moniker Nord for their own projects. Satoshi's Nord involved a handful of Japanese noise musicians including Hiroshi Hasegawa from Astro and C.C.C.C., with a smattering of recordings being released over the decades; but it's Oikawa's Nord that has become a holy grail to those seeking one of the most obscure releases of the Japanese noise underground from the '80s. He released two LPs on his imprint L.S.D. Records, as well as a couple of cassette releases. NG Tapes was one of those cassette releases, only made available as a bonus tape with a select number of copies of Nord's LSD album, itself an edition of just 200 copies. For all of its mystery and mythology, LSD was a dodgy record, in part due to the Surrealistic Pillow citation at the beginning on one side of the record; but the follow-up Ego Trip with its mind-erasing irradiation of post-Schnitzler / post-Monoton / pre-Thought Broadcast minimalist arpeggiation and dour electronics is a watershed album no matter how you slice it. NG Tapes may in fact be even better than Ego Trip, making this reissue all the more necessary. NG Tapes centers upon three long-form tracks of ominous, synth pulsations that capture radio-tunings, blankstare guitar drone/noise, and some disembodied vocal monotone within a psychic black-hole vortex of emotional emptiness. Oikawa girds these longer tracks with some short numbers of noise-junk tactility, scuzzed-out distortion, low impact power-electronics, and primitive rhythm-box programming. Presumably these shorter numbers reflect the aesthetic of the aforementioned Pinakotheca album though that one doesn't seem to be in the cards ever for a reissue. Hypnotic. Narcotic. Desolate. There's the sound of NG Tapes in a nutshell. A one-time only reissue, nicely repackaged in a tip-on sleeve and an obi to replicate the original tape's design.
NOZAKI, TOMONARIUne Histoire De Bleu(Invisible Birds)cd-r$ 11.98
Invisible Birds introduces us to another exceptional composer through their ongoing series of limited edition hand-fabricated cd-rs, where we had been previously graced by the langous tones of Arthur De Eriomem and got a brilliant full length out of Thomas Bel. Here, the imprint offers us an album from the Japanese ambient composer Tomonari Nozaki who started out in the techno scene, but grew fascinated with the purely analogue forms of tape loops and and synthesizers. A sense of rhythm and timing is definitely at play in his work, alluding to the beatless Pop Ambient sensibility that Wolfgang Voigt inspired through his classic Gas albums; but the placid, cinematic grandeur of Nozaki's sources harken more to The Caretaker and William Basinski's emotionally laden scores of forgotten dreams. The four lengthy tracks could endlessly cycle through their maudlin melodies that are stretched and swept as if carried away the currents of a cold, gray ocean. Like Basinski, Nozaki is not averse to including the dusty crackle, ferric drop-outs, and tape machined errors in with his composition. They do come across with a greater deal of randomness than on the aggregated decomposition of Basinski's Disintegration Loops; but all of the wooziness and gauzy ambience makes for a beautifully spellbinding listen. Limited to 100 copies.
NULLTerminal Beach(Manifold)cd$ 13.98
KK Null, of Japan's Zeni Geva, releases upon the world another installment of his solo guitar ambient/noise art. Tracks range from "Cosmic Rape" (1:26) to "War Dance" (17:20).
NULL, K.K.Atomik Disorder(Neurot)cd$ 12.98
NULL, KAZUYUKI K.Invisible Disaster(Black Hole)cd$ 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY. Solo electric guitar improv noise by Zeni Geva's Null, live in Australia.
NULL, KKDiscoteca Plasma(Mindfield Recordings)cd$ 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
NULL, KKErgosphere(Blossoming Noise)cd$ 14.98
NULL, KKFertile(Touch)cd$ 15.98
The veteran Japanese noisician (and guitarist of heavy prog act Zeni Geva) K.K. Null is back with his first solo album on the Touch label, and it's one of KK's best solo efforts we've heard to date. Perhaps inspired by labelmate Chris Watson (with whom he collaborated a few years ago, in conjunction with Z'ev), K.K. has brought some field recordings (birds, bugs, frogs, fire...) he made on a trip to a national park in Northern Australia to this project, mixing those with his own studio-conjured electronic sounds. No wonder, then, that Fertile is a spooky soundscape of nocturnal hiss and buzz, parts of it sounding like video games played by insects, others ominous with ghostlike voices buried beneath... chattering rhythmic components underlie what sound like shortwave freakouts, tracks often building to stactic-y explosiveness, droning and noisy, extremely dynamic and distorted. You could almost imagine that this is what a hybrid of a John Carpenter soundtrack and a Japanese noise record would sound like. Null calls it "cosmic noise maximal/minimalism." We don't know what to call it, exactly, but we like it!
NULL, KKGeV(Staalplaat)cd$ 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY. "Nullsonic" electronic manipulations by Japanese guitarist K.K. Null. Only slightly similar to the ambient noise whoosh of his many other solo projects, and definitely unlike the Swans-metal bludegon of his heavy rock outfit Zeni Geva. "GeV" features bleeping loops, chattering rumbles, and sharp tone-whirr. It's all very sci-fi sounding, like you're in the control room of some alien spaceship.
NULL, KKKosmista Noisea(Important)cd$ 14.98
When Japanese guitarist Null isn't bludgeoning skulls in his heavy prog power trio Zeni Geva (which maybe he isn't, anymore -- we never know if they're disbanded or just taking a long time between albums, as we haven't heard from ZG since, like, 2001) he's been known to indulge in abstract soundscapes via solo guitar and electronics, such as what's presented here, on this new Important release, Kosmista Noisea. Our description, stream-of-consciousness style, goes something like this: Merzbow techno video game insect swarm vacuum cleaner phaser fire! Ultra distortion!! OK!!! There's two tracks, one long (24:25) and one really long (45:15), recorded live and then further processed in the studio. The longer track has more stretches of night-time ambience, electronic chattering cricket drones and high-pitched testy tones. Definitely, though, both tracks are practically and aesthetically quite computer-y and sci-fi sounding, with moments of pulsing beauty, what sound like encrypted outer-space transmissions, and overloading space-battle SFX. Kosmista Noisea is indeed quite "noisea", but it's deftly woven noisea! If you're in need of a Japanese noise fix, don't wait (ha!) for the next Merzbow release, give ol' KK a try.