Gutenberg – Coordinate (Album – Ant-Zen)
Genre/Influences: Experimental, Abstract, Industrial, IDM.
Format: Digital.
Background/Info: Japanese project Gutenberg strikes back with a new album, which is the second one released on Ant-Zen. Most works have been released on Shouji Sakurai’s own label Faktoria. “Coordinate” has been introduced as a conceptual album around ‘the structure of garments’.
Content: “Coordinate” sounds pretty different to the first album released on Ant-Zen (cf. “Unnecessary Bronze”). The global approach sounds more Experimental and into ‘music concrete’ as Sakurai likes to define his music. It sounds like a controlled overwhelming chaos although some parts are definitely more into Industrial sound treatments, but also darker IDM and Industrial-Techno. Most of the tracks are instrumental edits, but you’ll also notice a few vocals, which are pretty fragmented and more adding an extra effect to the work.
+ + + : Gutenberg sounds like a sonic labyrinth or a true collage of sounds and noises. The work is pretty versatile and sounds like pure improvisation. I personally prefer the more ‘structured’ and sophisticated passages like the IDM-driven “Flare Hem” and the Industrial-Techno track “Corset’s Fortress”, both tracks being more into the vein of “Unnecessary Bronze”. I also like the early Industrial sounding “Oversized Coating”. It’s also one of the few songs featuring female vocals by Xu who’s more like adding screams to the work than really singing.
– – – : The work has something versatile and disjointed. The work sounds as a mishmash of influences, which have been brought together in a sonic puzzle.
Conclusion: I was less convinced by this new album, which is definitely appealing for Experimental minds.
Best songs: “Flare Hem”, “Corset’s Fortress”, “Oversized Coating”.
Rate: 6½.
Artist: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100006219104439
Label: www.ant-zen.com / www.facebook.com/antzen.official
About Gutenberg
Gutenberg is the techno and industrial solo project of Shouji Sakurai, based in Aichi, Japan. In the ‘Click Interview’ with Gutenberg: ‘“Tanz Mit Laibach” Is The Best Industrial Anthem’ Sakurai stated that he came to underground techno at eighteen, produced his first techno track and worked as a DJ, then traced the roots of the style back to industrial music. He runs the label Faktoria with two other members and organises his own parties, and described what draws him to musique concrete as “the feeling of freedom”.
Most Gutenberg titles appeared on Faktoria before Ant-Zen issued “Unnecessary Bronze” in 2019, the album that brought the project to a European audience. Sakurai commented at the time that he was “really happy and honored” to have the album released on Ant-Zen, and pointed to the limited attention industrial music receives in Japan.
“Coordinate” was released on 27 September 2021 by Ant-Zen as catalogue dig079. The album holds ten tracks, from “mode attitude” to “the coordination”, with voice by Xu, of Mionokage and Faktoria, on “oversized coating feat. xu” and “hard & eros feat. xu”. Stefan Alt handled the layout. Ant-Zen states the concept is the structure of garments, with fabric “treated, cutted, folded, blurred, coloured, pasted and stitched”, and describes the material as built on field recordings and metallic percussion blocks.
Support Side-Line
More people read Side-Line than ever, and there is still no paywall and no advertising. Readers pay for it instead - from $5 a month.
Why we ask
Advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news organisations we have not put up a paywall, and we refuse to add annoying advertising, so we need to ask for your help. Side-Line’s independent journalism takes time, money and hard work to produce, and we do it to push the artists we like, who are equally fighting to survive.
Handled by PayPal.
I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
