月光慰問客 - 月がでたので 7" EP (Pafe, 1986)

Tracklisting

Side A

月がでたので 

砂丘にて

Side B

迷子

青空

Charming europhilia from Gekko Imonkyaku, another Pafe Records group. Comparable to Kumiko Suyama and possibly Bernthøler, Antena, etc., as it has a bit of that Crepuscule vibe to it. I imagine the heavy dose of accordion here will cause opinions to vary, but I hope we can all agree that the closing track (青空, produced by labelmates Funeral Party) is pretty cool.

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Pale Cocoon - 青空の実験室 / Secret Sounds 10" EP (Pafe, 1982)

Tracklisting

Side A

青空の実験室

自動人形

Side B

少女の歌

水たまり (Brain To Vain)

I first heard about this band from a collector who named them as one of his top 3 favorite bands from Japan - the other two were Wha-Ha-Ha and Picky Picnic. Well, if Wha-Ha-Ha is a bunch of highly-trained adult lunatics, and Picky Picnic is a daycare gone wrong, then Pale Cocoon is the brooding middle sibling locked up in his room reading Edgar Allen Poe. All sorts of weird stuff going on here: warbly synths, rickety, metronomic percussion, field recordings, alternating between pastoral and cloistered without ever losing the consistency of a very private sonic universe. One of the great unknown bands of the 80's, if I do say so myself.

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Lewisite - タイムトラベラー 7" (Cragale, 1985)

Tracklisting

Side A

タイムトラベラー (Time Traveller)

Side B

Japanese Title

Japanese Title 

(unfortunately, these two song titles were printed very small, so I was not able to transcribe the kanji)

Delightful, delicate synth-pop from Lewisite, who only 2 years prior to this gem released the really abrasive "Siteseeing" EP, also on Cragale. I love both Jekyll and Hyde in this case, but I'm far more apt to whistle "Time Traveller", a flawless pop song that I can even imagine being an anime theme circa '85. Side B's no slacker either, delivering two more charmers in less than 4 minutes. Don't be surprised if these get stuck your head...

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3F=C - と・ま・ど・い 7" flexi (R.B.F., 1984)

Tracklisting

Side A

りんご (Ringo, trans. "Apple")

ばなな (Banana)

へび (Hebi, trans. "Snake")

とろっこ (Torokko, trans. "Wagon")

ときめき (Tokimeki, trans. "Crush")

Here's the sole 7" from 3F=C, a girl-girl duo consisting of Noriko on bass and Sumiko (also in the band Kyah) on guitar. The two craft a breed of bare-bones pop songs that reminds me of the UK DIY scene and its offspring, namely Young Marble Giants, etc. Each song is great, but "Tokimeki" really tops it, sounding to me like what might play in '50s-style diners on the sunken isle of Atlantis. This was actually one of the first "indies" items I obtained, and it's still one of my all-time favorites!

Enjoy!

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Agencement - untitled LP (Pico, 1986)

Tracklisting

Side A

Untitled

Side B

Untitled

Here's something a bit more challenging after a streak of comparatively more palatable postings. Agencement is the solo project of Hideaki Shimada, a violinist who became interested in European improv music in the late 70's before releasing his recordings at the suggestion of noise artist Masami Akita (Merzbow). The music falls squarely between those two camps, and is both "free" and utterly purgatorial.
This particular LP (released in an edition of 300) contains two side-long recordings of scrawling violin, sputtering away without variation or direction. Side A is acoustic solo violin, while side B features Shimada layering and electronically manipulating multiple recordings, resulting in a cacophonous din of squeaking, scattering noise.
Completely bleak and austere, so if you find it impenetrable, save it for one of those days where you feel like staring into the abyss.
Shimada's artwork deserves special note. The back cover of the LP showcases some seriously impressive work, complementing the music perfectly in a way similar to the alien hieroglyphs adorning Mick Barr's Orthrelm albums. Upon very close inspection, one can faintly make out contorted faces, bizarre appendages and arcane symmetrical edifices, conjoined in massive clouds that I imagine stretch beyond the edges in an infinite, hellish universe.

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PTA's - Tiger / Fukumen Toshi 7" (Cragale, 1986)

Tracklisting

Side A

Tiger

Side B

Fukumen Toshi
   

Released on Cragale in 1986, this is (as far as I know) the last PTA's release. Some of the same rollicking post-punk present on "New Songs" is here, though very much "reigned in" after having 5 years to become instrumentally proficient. Not such a good thing though, as I found their meandering, one-note strategies to be the totality of their charm, but the good isn't completely gone. The call and response elements of "Tiger" are fun, and the admittedly Edge-like guitarisms of "Fukumen Toshi" paired up with some archetypal Japanese melodies works for me in doses. Worth checking out, though possibly past it's prime.
 

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P.T.A's - New Songs 7" flexi (Cragale, 1981)

Tracklisting

Side A
Ishizue
Nagai Owakare

Side B
3 - K

Here's the first release from this gender-balanced group on the excellent and diverse Cragale imprint. Skeletal and motorik post-punk grooves with eerie, wispy melodies above and woozy abstract rustlings threatening to blow the supports. Sinister, edge-of-your-seat stuff -- and their best recording, I say!

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Habit of Sex

Here's a fantastic blog that I think any reader of Stalking Duppi will appreciate: HABIT OF SEX, run by nattliga_toner (who modestly did not advertise in his post of Yoran's "Montparnasse"). H.O.S. specializes in the darker, gothier sectors of Japanese underground music, featuring releases on cult labels like Wechselbalg, and even some early visual-kei. Especially check out his post of Funeral Party's "Embryo" 7" -- mind-melting stuff!

Also, nattliga_toner and I will periodically be doing guest posts on each others sites. We've already exchanged 2 Yoran singles, and there are many good things to follow.

Yoran - Montparnasse 7" EP (Unbalance, 1981)

Tracklisting

Side A
Concert Maillol
Je Derve Avec Láir

Side B
Montparnasse
La Bou.....

First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for being given the privilege to post on this very fine blog. I'll try to make my posts here as worthwhile as my record collection and writing abilities allow!

- - -

This is the first solo output by Yoran, released shortly after his stint as a bassist with punk rockers Laughin' Nose. Released on Naoto Hayashis legendary Unbalance label (famous for putting out Hijokaidans first album, among other things, during its brief existence) in 1981, this very singular EP is a far cry from both his previous and subsequent musical efforts.

The tracks contained here are comprised of cut-up and collaged recordings from various unspecified french movies intertwined with the occasional spoken word segments - all seemingly recorded using a cheap-o cassette player making for quite the lo-fi work. Nevertheless, "Montparnasse" harbors a very intriguing surreal atmosphere - just check out the later part of "Concert Maillol" with it's haunting looped piano, indistinct sound samples and Yorans bizarre hummings, mumblings and fumblings (of the tape recorder). I think this would sit well as the soundtrack to any fever dream.

Another favorite is the melancholic and paranoid title track and the ethereal dialogue-ladden murkiness of "Je Derve Avec Láir", but reviews of individual tracks feel pointless as this is definitely meant to be consumed whole. For maximum impact; play this very late at night.

"Montparnasse" was followed up by two more singles (of a totally different nature, I should add) before Yoran temporarily disappeared from the music scene. He later reemerged as a trance DJ under the moniker Yoji Biomehanika and regularly plays at raves all over the world. Nevertheless, I'd say that his main musical legacy lie within the three singles he put out in the early eighties.

Again, I'd wish to give my thanks for being granted to post here on Stalking Duppi, and I sincerely hope you'll all enjoy this outlandish little EP.

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The Gurdjieff - self-titled 7" EP (Night Gallery Records, 1985)

Tracklisting

Side A
S.P.I.Ritual
Optical Illusion

Side B
Oratorio
Animal Language

As far as I know, this is the only recording from "The Gurdjieff" outside of their/his/her appearance on the "Individual Music Osaka" cassette book released by Yuzuru Agi after the dissolution of Vanity Records. Released on the very odd Night Gallery label (run by guitarist of Auschwitz, I think), that also released Yoran, Duppi, and others before switching entirely to heavy metal. A strange trajectory...

The Gurdjieff is especially bizarre, skirting the line between morose minimal synth and all-out electro-industrial noise. The phrase "Maurizio Bianchi in Dracula's castle" is strangely applicable. Back cover has "THANKS TO NORMAL•B" printed underneath the song titles. I wasn't sure if that was a direct reference to Normal Brain (from Vanity Records) until I noticed a Texas Instruments Speak & Spell buried in the mix on "Oratorio". Not to be missed. Enjoy!

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