a r t i s t : Tetuzi Akiyama, Jason Kahn, Utah Kawasaki
t i t l e : Ailack
d a t e : 2005
l a b e l : Creative Sources CS027CD
g e n r e : Avantgarde
r l s. d a t e : Apr/2006
t r a c k s : 01
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 48,6 MB
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Tetuzi Akiyama: tape-delayed electric guitar
Jason Kahn: analog synthesizer, percussion
Utah Kawasaki: dismantled Roland synthesizer, cell phone
Recorded live at Kid Ailack Art Hall, Tokyo, February 22, 2004
Mastered by Jason Kahn
Artwork by Jason Kahn
Released in April 2005
"I'm continually surprised at the rate with which Ernesto
Rodrigues releases discs on his superb Creative Sources
imprint. As most folks reading this know, the excellent
viola/violin/electronics improviser began to document
Portuguese and Spanish improvisation several years back and
has quickly developed his label into one of the premier
outlets for improvisation at the intersection of European free
music, electroacoustics, and new music. I recently opened up
my mailbox to find a package stuffed with seven of the label's
latest goodies. All told, it's a strong batch.
[...] Several years on from their first release Luwa (on
Rossbin), Ailack (CS027) finds Tetuzi Akiyama (tape delayed
electric guitar), Jason Kahn (analogue synthesizer,
percussion), and Utah Kawasaki (dismantled Roland synthesizer,
cell phone) in an altogether more provocative place than their
earlier music. Fan that I am of these musicians, I felt like
Luwa wasn't as successful as it could have been. This
recording - a single, 35-minute track recorded in April 2004
at Tokyo's Kid Ailack Art Hall - benefits from a better
acoustic, a better recording, and better empathy among the
players. The main musical relationship is between the vast
reverberation (which often flirts with tonality) that
permeates much of the beginning, and various rude noises that
slash, shove, and kick at the drift towards settled meditative
space. To me, the central presence here is Akiyama; he gets
quite deep into his twisted, fractured blues, which emerges
here like some alien language. But nothing really gets
complacent in this music, as during the second half of the
piece things get quite dense and loud (a surprise given the
players involved), and the music starts to sounds like a giant
piece of tuned metal expanding outward. One of the best discs
of this batch.
[...] Taken together, this septet of discs is worthy not just
for their quality but also for their documentation of this
music (and some of its lesser known players). Rodrigues
already has a new batch out. In the meantime, however, don't
miss out on some of these gems." Jason Bivins (Bagatellen)
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01-Ailack [34:18]
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34:18 min