Genre/Influences: Experimental, Electro-Acoustic, Noise.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Japanese sound engineer & -performer plus label owner Kazuya Ishigami strikes back with a new opus, which this time has been released by the American label Dada Drumming.

Content: “Mind Liberation” features 2 tracks, which each lead you into a sonic turmoil for nearly 29 minutes. The work is a sonic collage, mixing dark atmospheres with different noises. It’s a dark universe of sounds, which are progressively evolving into a soundscape of Noise. Both tracks are clearly into improvisation.

+ + + : Kazuya Ishigami is holding on some sound formula from the ‘Japanese Noise school’, which he intermixed with a very own style. It’s a sonic labyrinth wherein the Ambient touch makes the work more accessible. This album is appealing for lovers of Experimental music and reminds me of the ‘anti-music’ approach from 80s experimentalists. The digipak format of the CD looks pretty cool.

– – – : This work remains a challenging listening, which is clearly meant for an experienced audience. I already heard more convincing works from this artist.

Conclusion: Kazuya Ishigami remains an artist for extreme souls, but always has something intriguing.

Best songs: “Mind Liberation 1 – Anger, Sadness, Apathy”.

Rate: 6½.

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

Label: www.dadadrumming.org / www.facebook.com/dada.drumming.9

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

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

Background/Info: Japanese artist and producer Miyamoto Takashi is already involved with music since the 80s. He experimented with different styles and projects. “Polarization” is the fifth album in the “Neo Electroacoustic Ambient Series”.

Content: This album totally matches with the concept of the conceptual series set up by Kyou Records owner Kazuya Ishigami. You’ll discover total experimentalism and abstract music passages progressively evolving towards ambient atmospheres. Buzzing noises, irritating sound signals, field recordings, but still slow trip-hop-like rhythms and a surprising Dive-like electro-industrial piece reveal the eclecticism of this artist.

+ + + : “Polarization” makes me think of a sonic puzzle made of multiple little pieces, which all reveal a different influence. The music is made of numerous manipulations and experimentalism creating a kind of free-style. This artist clearly deals with an impressive number of influences. The danceable electro-industrial “Beat Gift (For Elders)” even sounds as a track for the dancefloors. I also enjoyed some ports for the visual side of the work.

– – – : I have no real problem with diversity, but this album sometimes makes me think of a sampler instead of the work from one artist.

Conclusion: Miyamoto Takashi is next to a sound scientist also a real sonic chameleon dealing with an impressive palette of influences.

Best songs: “Beat Gift (For Elders)”, “Heavenly Falling”.

Rate: (7).

Band: www.facebook.com/takashi.miyamoto.7524

Label: www.facebook.com/kyourecords

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Experimental, dark-ambient, soundscape.

Background/Info: Ueda Hideo aka Elma is a Japanese noise maker who’s already active for numerous years now and can look back at an impressive discography. We’re definitely facing an artist who’s active at a very specific scene and who with this album contributed to the “Neo Electroacoustic Ambient Series” set up by Kazuya Ishigami.

Content: The ‘electroacoustic’ aspect comes rapidly through. You quickly will notice the experimentalism and sound manipulations of Elma. With his noises and manipulated field recordings he also creates an obscure and ambient-like sound field with a visual strength. The atmosphere becomes progressively baleful leading the visitor towards imaginary sound corridors of horror.

+ + + : This third chapter in the “Neo Electroacoustic Ambient Series” appears to be a new sonic travel where you can assist at the numerous manipulations and experiments from a truly sound alchemist. It’s a surgical composition where the artist transforms himself into a kind of scientist in search of new sounds and noises. Creation appears to be more important than music properly speaking although Elma accomplished a few noticeable ambient passages.

– – – : It however remains an extreme sound experiment, which you have to discover and listen to a few times before getting a real opinion about it. As I already mentioned it’s the kind of artist and music that will appeal for a very limited number of people who you can define as ‘experts’.

Conclusion: Chemistry is known as the secret formula to create gold, but applied to music you can imagine it refers to the efforts and never-ending experiments to create unique sounds and noises. That’s precisely what you can feel when listening to “A Dream Not To Be Able To Remember”.

Best songs: “A Dream Not To Be Able To Remember”.

Rate: (6).

Band: www.facebook.com/hideo.ueda.961

Label: www.facebook.com/kyourecords

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-ambient, experimental.

Background/Info: I discovered the Japanese ‘sound maker’ Kazuya Ishigami by his “Cleaner 583”-album. This artist already released considerable number of productions on his own label Neus-318 while he now started a new record company called Kyou Records. “Canceller X” is the first release on this brand-new company and also the first one in the “Neo Electroacoustic Ambient Series”.

Content: The sound universe created for “Canceller X” is carried by ambient-like soundscapes mixed with an impressive sonic canvas of noises, manipulations and field recordings. The tracks progressively evolve, sometimes featuring unexpected melodic elements and mainly supported by mysterious atmospheres.

+ + + : Kazuya Ishigami remains first of all a sound designer, sound performer and sound engineer in electro-acoustic music. That’s precisely the concept of this series and the kind of sound you rapidly will recognize in his work. But there is where most of sound experimentalists lose themselves in a vacuum of improvisation and abstract music, “Canceller X” reveals a work with great sound atmospheres. That’s what makes the work dark-ambient like and even somewhat visual. There’s a kind of hidden danger emerging from the tracks and I like this mysterious atmosphere.

– – – : The sound formula is somewhat repetitive and a little less predictable after a while. But it first of all is the kind of music you need to discover in the right circumstances.

Conclusion: “Canceller X” is a pretty fascinating and atypical opus with a particular focus on sound creation. This is an interesting sonic experiment.

Best songs: “First Cancel”, “Bad Memory”.

Rate: (7).

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

Label: www.facebook.com/kyourecords

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com

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

Inferno Sound Diaries

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.

www.side-line.com