Incapacitants

3LP box version. It’s a great moment for reissues of ambitious, historical gestures of the noise from Japan. One after the other, these artifacts have emerged from the shadows, entirely rewriting what so many of us thought we knew. Now, at long last, before us rest another piece in the puzzle - the first ever vinyl reissue of one of the most sought after artifacts from the 80s noise scene - Incapacitants' Project Pallo ‘85, originally issued in 1985 by Pariah Tapes, and now reemerging in a new fully remastered edition by Andrea Marutti.

Few projects can claim the seminal importance of the Incapacitants on worldwide noise scene. The group was formed in 1981 in Osaka, as the solo project of Toshiji Mikawa, a member of the amazing noise group Hijokaidan. Mikawa, a bank employee who then became a deputy general manager of one of the largest securities brokers in Japan, later moved to Tokyo, where he joined with government office worker Fumio Kosakai (also an occasional member of Hijokaidan, as well as a former member of C.C.C.C.) to make Incapacitants a duo. Toshiji Mikawa and Fumio Kosakai are no ordinary salarymen, though. They've been making some of the most unremittingly ear-shattering racket for decades as Incapacitants, one of the most significant noise outfits to emerge from the groundbreaking Japanese scene in the early 1980s, and still one of the most radical and powerful.

They've consistently been responsible for some of the most complex, chaotic, loud, and downright fun releases in the genre. In the early eighties when based in Osaka, Mikawa occasionally performed as Incapacitants as part of various duets, most notably with Yamatsuka Eye of Hanatarash and Boredoms, and set up the Pariah Tapes label in order to release the first Incapacitants material. Starting from 1981 with Eternal Paralysis and Peony Crackers until 1985 with Project Pallo ‘85 that was produced on the label in triple cassette and handmade box. About two hours and half divided in 7 long tracks of just pure, unadulterated electronic distortion of the highest quality done by one of the masters who has ever turned the knob on a distortion pedal that is fun, terrifying, hypnotic and fascinating all at the same time; his noise takes root not in violence or gimmickry, but in uncontaminated energy.

"I love Incapacitants more than anything. My love for them is reaffirmed as I listen again to their many cassette releases. They’re simply cool. Too beautiful." - Otomo Yoshihide

Originally released in 1985, Project Pallo ’85 returns as a triple-LP reissue, pressed on 140g black vinyl and housed in a deluxe wooden box limited to just 99 hand-numbered copies. The front of the wooden box features a finely detailed laser-printed design, while the three LPs carry custom labels, with one side featuring release information in color and the other a black-and-white photograph of Jackie Pallo. The set includes the original insert, a new color insert featuring a dragon drawing by Takuya Sakaguchi, and his notes for this reissue, presented in both English and Japanese. Looking back on the project more than 40 years later, Sakaguchi traces its origins to the very first idea of a triple-cassette release. His notes offer a unique insight into the story behind the project and the unlikely circumstances that brought this singular release to life in 1985.