Kazuya Ishigami – Cleaner 583 (CD Album – Slowdown Records)

Genre/Influences: Experimental, ambient-noise, abstract.

Background/Info: Kazuya Ishigami is hailing from Osaka (Japan) and is fascinated by ‘sound’. He’s a composer, sound designer, sound performer and sound engineer. He’s running the label Neus-318 on, which he released most of his work since the late 90s.

Content: “Cleaner 583” is one of the latest creations of the artist. It’s a new exploration of sounds and noises. You’ll notice endless electronic signals mixed with analogue sweeps and an impressive canvas of noises. Some industrial elements can be heard now and then.

The work feels abstract, but still ambient-like and I especially refer to the astral dimension of this work. Some parts might be a little less disturbing, other parts are into pure improvisation revealing a kind of truly noise-soup. You’ll also notice some more ‘classical’ synth sounds hanging over the tracks.

+ + + : The least I can say is that you really can feel the sound engineer operating behind this composition. Kazuya Ishigami transforms and dissects noises to create new ones. This artist clearly belongs to the Japanese experimental school –which is not always easy to endure, but he gets his work more accessible than most of his compatriots.

– – – : The experimental- and especially improvised character of the work is sometimes a bit monotonous. I’m referring to a few passages, sounding like endless noise signals. The experimental side of this artist moves on the edge of extreme music.

Conclusion: “Cleaner 583” will catch the attention of the truest experimental lovers although some passages will definitely appeal for other music lovers as well. This work sounds more like a performance instead of a real composition!

Best songs: “All Cleaning”, “Inner Soul”, “Discontent”.

Rate: (6½).

Band: www.facebook.com/kazuya.ishigami.5