Music from Japan

Japan's king of noise returns with Zophorus. Speaker massaging pulsations of psychic skree & frequency abuse housed in a deluxe 5 color digipak designed by Masami Akita, in february of 2007.

"La Grima (Tears) was performed on August 14, 1971, at the Genyasai festival in Sanrizuka, Japan. The first six minutes or so of this performance can be heard on the omnibus LP Genya (released on CD in 2004). This CD presents the complete, unedited v…

Another previously unreleased archive release from Takayanagi, the premier Japanese free-guitar stylist. Recorded live in 1970, waves of trademark feedback abound, but also some more serene segments with flute, freedom atmospherics, etc. Not as overw…

Takayanagi is the premier free-guitarist legend in the Japanese underground story. This CD features unreleased material by the master, from 1970. The sound is heavy improv, with Takayangi's explosive feedback wail in prominent display. As fine an int…

Originally released in 1975 as an LP on Iskra Records (ISKRA-001). 'First session 1: Gradually Projection'. 'First session 2: Gradually Projection'. 'Second session: Mass Projection'. New Direction Unit are Masayuki Takayanagi: electric guitar. Kenji…

Originally released in 1976 as an LP on Offbeat Records (ORLP-1009). Masayuki takayanagi New Direction Unit. Masayuki takayanagi: guitar. Kenji Mori: reeds. Nobuyoshi Ino: bass, cello. Hiroshi Yamazaki: percussion. Recorded live at Yasuda Seimei Hall…

restocked! Originally released in 1975 as an LP on Offbeat Records (ORLP-1005). 'Fragment II: Gradually Projection'. 'Fragment III: Percussion Solo'. 'Fragment VI: Mass Projection'. All compositions by Masayuki takayanagi. Masayuki takayanagi New Dir…

Vienna artist Klaus Filip plays music using nothing but sine waves produced with 'lloopp,' an improvisation software program he invented and continues to refine. Toshimaru Nakamura makes music simply by controlling a mixing board's internal feedback,…

American performance/noise/percussion artist Z'ev, Japanese composer/performer K.K. Null, and field-recording artist Chris Watson (formerly of Cabaret Voltaire and the Hafler Trio) conjoin in a first collaboration for Touch. The idea for this recordi…

5 tracks 46 minutes 43 seconds performed & produced 2005. Packaged in a full-color cardboard sleeve.

Fertile is KK NULL's first album for touch, following his collaboration with Chris Watson and Z'ev [Number One - Tone 24, 2005], which boomkat called 'moving and atmospheric', and The Wire wrote 'a complex dramatic work from a strict economy of means…

A former member of Merzbow, Mizutani has been creating his solo work since 1989, delving into areas of electronic noise, structural sound systems of feedback and instrumentation as well as natural compositional arrangements of field recordings. Yokos…

ErstLive is a new series of releases from Erstwhile Records, documenting notable live sets associated with the label. The discs are designed to simulate a concert experience, each in the same template design using two colors chosen by the musician…

"between", for me is about the tension and space between objects, and how we might occupy this area, to reside if you like between the conventions, to locate the flexibility that comes from de-theorizing the dogmas. It seemed to me as if Toshi and I …

That said, "Weather Sky" is another thing altogether. Bruno Meillier invited Toshi to play a duo concert in St Etienne with AMM's no-concessions table guitar master Keith Rowe, and took them into the studio the day after to record for Erstwhile. Sens…

ErstLive 005 is from the quartet of Keith Rowe, Sachiko M, Toshimaru Nakamura, and Otomo Yoshihide, the centerpiece show of AMPLIFY 2004: addition, the "four hour quartet". ErstLive 005 contains three individually packaged slimline CDs in a slipcase…

Collaborative studio album from Keji Haino of the legendary FUSHITSUSHA & KK Null the man behind ZENI GEVA. Limited to 1000 copies beautifuly printed with vegetable based inks using both traditional letterpress & offset printing methods on custom bla…

Ergosphere was recorded live during Kazuyuki Kishino's (Zeni Geva, etc.) tour of Russia in late 2005, specifically on his only two solo dates, live at Moscow Palace of Youth in Moscow Russia October 5, 2005 and 'Festival Hea Uus Heli' Kanuti Gildi Sa…

'Prime Radiant' is noise as a spray of blood-red roses, a vast wash of colour concealing six inch thorns. Kazuyuki Kishino has been at the forefront of the Japanese noise scene for over 20 years, both as guitarist/leader of extremist sludge rockers Z…

Five tracks from 2002 recorded live in Japan by Tetuzi Akiyama. The first four feature Butcher solo on tenor or soprano sax, and were recorded at the Oya Stone Museum. The final track is a 20-minute duet with Toshimaru Nakimura on no-imput mixing …