Obscurities of Japanese noise

[FreakAnimalFinland]

Everybody knows the big & the famous. There was always nice tapes from lots of artists who have remained in shadow of the rest or almost forgotten. I think I may have written about some of bands I may want to write again, but lets start with:

NECROMANTICK-PHENOMENA "6725 Schnittwunde" tape
ZSF produkt / Omnipresent records
Don't know if project prefers to be called with full name, or perhaps better known as just "NP". I have had stuff like NP-Thirdorgan splits for long time, and this guy did collaboration with Gerogerigegege, tape on ZSF as "GERO-P". This C-20 comes from 1985 and I had luck finding it from Japanese noise store for pretty nice price. Cover with fetuses strangulated in their naval cords (or whatever it's called). Music has plenty of variation. One can just imagine how the original 1985 ferric tape sound THIS good on tape deck. It's harsh, it's fierce. It starts with noise which sounds like Masonna meets free-form punk drumming. Throaty screaming, fast blasting beats below the harshness. Soon transforms into more industrial noise with rhythm, side ending into harsh noise.  Somehow you get idea when thinking of GRIM meets MASONNA perhaps? 3 tracks in total. B-side continues with sharper noise. Almost Incapacitants like high pitched feedback torture with busy harsh distortion, combined with slow bounding metal junk and strange yelling noises. Vocals sounds almost like baby crying and some sort of ritualistic humming on back. It's really noisy and sharp. Just amazing noise orgy for whole 10 minutes.
I don't see this even mentioned in discogs. And not much of his label either. Hows the other stuff he may or may not have done in the 80's. I think the late 90's 3 collaborations with Thirdorgan are good, one of the tapes in very nice special package too. But since those I already have, I wonder what else exists and is this guy still around?

His other project is listed: Mackerel Can Molding Company. And it is credit to be part of Merzbow veneorology, as guy who recorded the live song of the cd. He also mixed one of Gerogerigegege 7"s. If you come across the tape, buy it without hesitation!

[bitewerksMTB]

Not really obscure but you never ever see it mentioned is the LP collab of JOJO & SAKEVI. I forget the title & it's not really noise. Seems like there was more atmosphere to it. I'd like to hear it again. Might be a nice reiss. if one could obtain the rights...

All the acts on Lust Vessel seem to be obscure. Does anyone know anything about the personal involved? I wouldn't be surprised if they're all by the same handful of people.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

I met the guy behind at least some of Lust Vessel projects. He kept saying "don't tell anyone, secret!!". I'm pretty sure he could be behind all, perhaps not all alone. But as far as I know, he has no other noise projects, so it's not like side projects of some known bands.

Jojo / Sakevi, has more droning guitar of nearly dark ambient nature. I know friend had it, sold it, and regretted later. I saw copy in Japan. When I took it to desk of shop, seller asked "where did you find this? Not for sale!". Didn't get it... Pricetag was like 3500Jpy. Would pay that any moment.

[trashritual]

Through the archive sales of Self Abuse Records I came across Rptort Shoot (might also be related to Retort Shoot but never heard compilation that featured). Main reason for picking up was label release of Kinky Musik Institute but in any case glad I did as material is a gem in the Mid-90's Japanese tape culture.

Kill The Hypnotic Bastards [Kinky Musik Institute]
High energy spastic performances similar to Masonna that move in similar fashion from track to track yet with focus on shifts and not on actual physical cuts. Basically 5 variations of "Kill The Highway Star" as well as 2 additional add ons to make full duration of tape. All 5 variations of "Kill The Highway Star" are in standard format of spoken title introduction followed by intense blasts of ever changing noise and dominant vocal. Entire mix is quite saturated but always modulated feedback, junk metal, tape loop manipulation, etc in best tastes. Following 2 tracks are slightly different direction where mix sometimes settle into dull feedback and delay of source but works well for what it is. "Heel Hold Killer" is mentioned to have edit from label itself but judging on stagnantion of track it is for the best and in excerpt form provides solid end to tape. Of course 2 following tracks can't meet obsessive nature of "Kill The Highway Star" variations but showcased project is beyond basic concept.

77 Clock Blasted / Limited Cuts [Self Released]
Perfect single styled format for noise material of this style. Simple well put together noise in similar fashion as last 2 tracks of tape mentioned above. Pace is overall much slower but still moves along at somewhat steady pace. Manipulation works are still top notch and focus is more on the overall noise than vocals. Packaging is handmade collage from artist with title tracks written directly on jcard. Patrick/Self Abuse mentioned tape may not be official work but more of promo.

Shoot MF [Self Released]
Another release which was mentioned as maybe not official but release offers as much variety as first tape mentioned. Main difference between this and release on KMI is focus of material. "Shoot MF" seems to dwell more in the basic simple noise than the constant layering of the previous tapes. Sound comes across more typical to live pe styled performance where vocals twist with actual noise itself and not so much of noise being drowned out when vocals kick in. Still plenty of ungrounded wire/speaker hum on majority of tracks which really builds body to the mix itself. Only disappointing aspect would be "Wavelinear" track of badly filtered synth melody. A small mistep in the otherwise fantastic discography.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

There is probably a lot of noise in Japan which didn't make it to very known. Probably similar to promo tapes Self Abuse may have received, I have several unreleased (as far as I know) or advance recordings sent to me in 90's. Projects like Taichi, what for example discogs only mentions in one compilation. Building of Gel and its side projects, which I think MDM was it? two guys of Building of Gel doing nice electronic noise.
Lots of other obscurities like Hentaitenno, Mad Recital, Atrocity Master, Sinner's Crime, Peeping Tom, Mamarracho, Aki-Mekura, Riku (sister of Diesel Guitar, great!!), Colloid, Comfort,........ pff. I guess should re-visit and comment some of them. Not all were something one should even remember, but some others most definitely would be worth of doing even "from shadows of japanese noise ug" historical observation comp, hah..

[FreakAnimalFinland]

And to ad, few times when visiting Modern Music shop in Tokyo, there are piles of strange tapes. All japanese text. And when you ask owner, he'll read the description in style of "homemade japanese noise. Limited to 10." and then you see couple of that same tape in shelve. And probably been there 15 years? No idea who or what they would be. One would need someone to write names/titles in normal alphabets.

[trashritual]

Comments on some of those projects would be great for better and worse regarding material (even if some of the names I already know/own material). I am sure that in every scene there are projects that remain unknown to majority due to one reason or another (limitation, poor distribution, promo w/o finalized product, etc). This is why you can see people digging through the garbage in hopes of finding that hidden gem.

I know there is a compilation being based on Japanese "Underdogs" of Scene from the 90's between Finnish and US labels but artist list is still being finalized and nowhere complete due to issue of lost contacts. Been in the works for sometime now and information will be posted when 1st set is ready. I do know MDM (yes B.O.G. Side Project) was on the list but current contact has yet to be found. RoboChanMan was another hopeful but will see what the future holds...

Back on track...two more reviews of related projects to RoboChanMan on his own New Machine label. Unfortunately majority of releases are quite limited with little to no information available. Would love to read about some of Yasushi's other projects like Grand Cross Orchestra, Moletown Crew, Corrupted World Civilization.

Collision With Cronos - Annihilation Factor [New Machine 1994]
Pre-RoboChanMan project with incredible amount of detail. Shouldn't expect full force noise as later recordings were but more of industrial with extremely crude organic touch. Sound on first both parts of "Annihilation Factor" constructed of tape manipulation as main focus with buried layers of dialog, dragging of objects on concrete/gravel floor, etc. "The Schizophrenic Person" works in the same manner but more aggressive end result due to bass guitar, shortwave radio and overall louder source manipulated. Same goes for "Disaster Area" which is so simple of buzzing electronics, motor source, etc. Side A ends with "Water Lily" pieced together of various loops of dead air recordings, motors, broken electronics all deconstructed in a lovely manner. Side B "Rubycon [Theme Of Retort City]" pretty much plays back as soundtrack to pinky violence film except in more experimental mind frame. Edition of 15 copies.

Hyper Doll - Hyper Doll [New Machine 1996]
Roughly 45 minutes of strange noise. Sound composition collages all over the map here arranged in a very sloppy, careless manner. Sometimes 1 second of useless noise, other times acoustic recording of what seems to be tapping on metal junk, pops, vinyl turntable abuse, sing-a-longs to various japanese punk rock. Everything pretty much covered here and end result is so unique in sometimes downright horrible manner that I can't even begin to put judgment on release itself as it clearly requires different mindset.  Packaged in spray painted plastic bag with plastic bands melted around the release itself. Edition of 30 but unsure if all were ever finished? Can only really recommend this to listeners with the most open of minds.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

wasn't this planned CD box still (I guess still in hus hus -situation?) with kind of "artists known by people into noise"? I mean, we could of course list bands like Crack Fierce, AMB, Crack Fierce, Robochanman, Magmax, etc. which remain far below the well known names, but some still have vinyl/cd on pretty established labels. I think something like Colloid, which included one member of Outermost in early stages before he left the band, I think it was kind of separated from "scene", since didn't exist in any of the big cities or their surroundings, but... was it Sapporo? Very north of Japan far away of anything. Comp tracks on Vanilla, some own tape(s). Outermost was nice at the time, but never very heavy. Perhaps to be compared to cheaper version of Thirdorgan and Monde bruits. Kind of mid-range fast electronic noises. Not very bassy/heavy, not very painfull high/crispy. Earliest stuff mainly with drum machine bursts. Not "beats", no "rhythm". Just method of creating noises. Grunt did split tape in.. 94 on his label Cat Move. I was heavily surprised that C-20 tape had actually offset printed cover instead of some xerox. I owe this guy a lot for introducing me shitloads of Japanese noise via tape trading. Kept sending him dubs of finnish hc-punk, and he returned with jap noise I couldn't afford.

[Bloated Slutbag]

Obscure is a term I reserve for relatively unknown or unusual units with a fairly defined position or aesthetic. Most of the projects we've seen named, or alluded to, would be better served with the prefix "side". That is to say, few if any would represent a principle occupation, in any duration, for the parties responsible.

A case in point would be Takel-Kizimecca, by far my favorite contributor to '91 "Noise and Junk Omnibus" on RRRecords (against strong showings from Incaps, Gero, VOG, Agencement). The sound of his four-minute "Ecology", fairly developed within its narrow confines, encapsulates perfectly a certain mood/atmosphere/aesthetic that I absolutely love. Raw, gritty, ground-in, crumbling, near-droning buzz, and gristle, understated, gutteral, sublime. To my knowledge, Kizimecca's only other extant recording appears on the RRRecords comp "Testamemt II", and quite a disappointment, comparatively speaking, it is. That's all he wrote.

But Kizimecca is hardly a noise perveyor, and would probably be surprised if any were to accuse him of giving a rat'r ass. Prior to the RRRecords brevities abovementioned, an art book entitled "6 Apologies Of Onanism" was released in '88, distributed by V2. (Kiimecca is also credited with the photography gracing Dissecting Table releases on V2.) After that, it's all mainly paintings. Check out his Bottomless Stratum for Mental Oscillation to appreciate a "fascination with abomination":

www.kizimecca.org/

The following interview excerpt explains nothing, but everything:

"Q What else are you interested in besides visual arts?
A Insect watching and sightseeing to modern ruins."

All to say that the refreshingly bullshit-lite view of noise as something that you simply "do" - rather than as some artistic vocation or calling or major preoccupation or whathaveyou - is as alive and well in Japan as ever. (QED Every other day it seems I stumble across unkown noise-type events populated by unknown noise-type acts far excized from the circle of local noise I'm familiar with - eg Pain Jerk, Incapacitants, Government Alpha, Astro, etc.)

Critics often argue that such attitude effectively devalues the product - and they're right! The tougher sell is that this attitude also erodes the power of the product: to impact, to affect, to move, re- Kizimecca et al. For me, the least affectative may prove the most effective.

[facialmess]

Building of Gel is a name that seems to have disappeared into the "where are they now file" , I have 2 tapes of theirs, "Red" on Jason Hodges (Suppression) CNP label, and "Cube" on Self Abuse (although could be the other way round, don `t really fancy shifting through the tape collection to check).
Really enjoyed these tapes. Lots of harsh, yet warm analog sounds. Really good live act too, Not sure what happened to them.

Then there was Taichi, have a couple of self released tapes by this guy. Very dynamic, high/mid frequency harsh noise, Pain Jerk might be a good comparison......but live, very similar to Masonna, so much so that when Maso caught this Taichi live, he accused him of completely ripping him off and told him to "get his own act". Which, apparently, resulted in the ever-so fragile Taichi disappearing from Noise altogether and undergoing months of therapy.

does Gasolineman count as obscure?? If I have one noise wish, it is to resurrect this guy.......one of my favourite noise acts ever, his B-Boy Sherman abusing live antics were a joy to behold.

Still waiting for the return of the Sewage and Peeping Tom brothers too

[Bloated Slutbag]

Would love to read about some of Yasushi's other projects like Grand Cross Orchestra, Moletown Crew, Corrupted World Civilization.

Grand Cross Orchestra is pretty great, really lives up to the name. I actually just came across their "Tokyo Disaster" this morning digging through crates for the Yellow Cab GROSS tape with the intention of writing informed rebuttal to Senior AnimalFinland's somewhat dismissive review. Slapped on the TD for some relatively quiet digging-for-Yellow-Cab music and after a few(?) minutes realized I'd been sitting there in dazed stupor as the intense junk spewage savaged forth. A lot of great ideas packed into this one, plenty of detail, chunky trash-compactor textures, radically orchestrated shift in movement, the momentum not letting up for a moment. At least for the ten minutes I'd allocated. Gonna be rockin out to GCO tonight, give this monster the full and proper listen it deserves.

Yeah, I'd forgotten. Some of Tahara's work is really listenable. Memory recollects most fondly the stellar remix that constitutes B-side from MSBR's "Final Harsh Work #1".

[Teito Y]

I think NE compilation from Banned production is a good example for Japanese Obscurities, like
RyujiRyuji, Bloody Cum, Jinmin Jeans and others. Of course you cannot forget Sexorama series from
ZSF.

NP is a guitarist for Zatopek Succer (now defunct). ZS is on Deadtech Sampler 2 along with Gerogeri and
others. And I think he played some more Gerogeri cds.

For Obscurities.....Toukaseibunshi ( aka Haiginsha or Hironari Iwata ) is easy to get as his former tapes
are re-issued from PSF records.

And I wonder if someone hear about Criminal Pary. He released one split tape with Grim, MB, etc.
Considering release no on his tapes, I guess he has released a lot of tapes from his Lunatic Propaganda.
CP is almost one man project of Elle. He is first vocalist of Zeni Geva and former vocalist for Japanese
hardcore band LSD. The gerogerigegege played LSD cover of Deadtech 2.....

[manuel-ronf]

Cunt Decide - "579116952348"
Label: Criminal Law Tapes, Catalog#: 001
Format: Cassette, Single Sided
Country: Japan
Released: 1992
Style: Noisecore
A classic noisecore recording with Senseless Apocalypse members, maybe Pre-S.A.?
Not very angry powered but nice in my opinion.
(Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/Cunt-Decide-579116952348/release/759720)

Cannibalistic Dissection - "222 Songs Demo '93-'94"
self released
Format: Cassette, Single Sided
Country: Japan
Released: 1994
Style: Noisecore
Maybe very in the style of early Gore Beyond Necropsy stuff, gory Noisecore with drum machine and some grind touch
(Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/Cannibalistic-Dissection-222-Songs-Demo-93-94/release/761404)

[ConcreteMascara]

Kawakami of the Japanese d-beat band Disclose released a couple albums as Goatworshipper/Blackgoat right before he died (Overdose on sleeping pils I think). When I was in Japan my friend gave me a copy of the Goatworshipper s/t CD. It's kind of monotonous "black noise". Not a lot of bass or really highpitched feed back, each song just sort of melts into the other. The vocals are all pitch shifted and can get a little tiresome at times. The album is best taken in small doses I think unless you're really in the mood for it. When I was in Japan I was able to find some info on Kawakami and the project but now I can't seem to find the sites.

[Zeno Marx]

Kawakami of the Japanese d-beat band Disclose released a couple albums as Goatworshipper/Blackgoat right before he died (Overdose on sleeping pils I think). When I was in Japan my friend gave me a copy of the Goatworshipper s/t CD. It's kind of monotonous "black noise". Not a lot of bass or really highpitched feed back, each song just sort of melts into the other. The vocals are all pitch shifted and can get a little tiresome at times. The album is best taken in small doses I think unless you're really in the mood for it. When I was in Japan I was able to find some info on Kawakami and the project but now I can't seem to find the sites.

I'm one of the biggest Disclose fans you'll ever know, but his noise wasn't [yet] anything special.  Who knows?  Perhaps with time, he would've developed a craft.  He was good at everything else he did.
http://distortminds.blogspot.com/2007/08/blackgoat-goatworshipper.html