Keeping on the “Japanese Heavy Psych” vibe that SPL left off with last year, I thought I’d contribute one of my personal favorites; Kousokuya’s blistering first (and only) studio LP, the imaginatively titled 1s t from 1991 (recorded in '89-90).
Kousokuya (English= Night Flux) started back in 1979 as a sort of no wave group replete with synthesizer plonking. Guitarist and occasional vocalist Kaneko Jutok continued on, taking the group into a harder, darker, more rock based direction, albeit one that retained his untamed guitar mangling. Unlike the similar Keiji Haino, whose Fushitsusha brings guitar noise to near transcendental levels; Jutok’s style is more fractured and spacious, willing to let hideous notes ring out on waves of feedback. There’s also a charming feel of amateurishness that, thankfully, never forces the listener to suspend disbelief; it’s obvious he knows what he’s doing. He also has an ungodly tone, not dissimilar to Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi.
These aren’t just showcases for Jutok’s guitar exorcisms’ though; there are songs. The rhythm section are interesting in their own right; the singularly named bassist / vocalist, Mick, has a sick fuzztone goin’ on and her vocals are the mournful cries of a ghost haunting a babbling brook. Drummer Takahashi Ikurou alternates between big rock pounding, jazzbo sticksmanship and something approaching trad Japanese percussion.
It’s not all explosions either; “Removal” is a moody piece buffeted by Mick’s three note dirge and spectral, off-key, moaning while Jutok and Takahashi play with free dynamics. It sounds like Sabbath’s “War Pigs” convalescing in a v.a. hospital after stepping on an IED.
Although 1st is the only studio album the band produced (Kaneko Jutok died unexpectedly from a heart attack in 2007), there are numerous live albums that are available and worth hearing – particularly Ray Night (not to be confused with Ray Night 1991-1992) and The Dark Spot which is a collaboration with saxophonist (alto) and PSF label mate Masayoshi Urabe (depending, of course, on how much sax skronk you can handle).
In the comments, old friends!
