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Zongamin - Zongamin
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r i p p i n g n o t e s . . . . . . . ▀
date Mar-12-2003
style Electronic
label XL Recordings / Flesh Records
cat.no. XLCD 158
source CDDA
type Album
quality 192kbps 44.1hz Joint-Stereo
size 59,7 MB
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r e l e a s e n o t e s . . . . . . . ▀
"Beneath the churning, polluted waters of the pop ocean, something is
stirring. Fed by years of contaminated musical sludge and pop culture
slurry, Zongamin is ready to emerge. With a mighty roar the Japanese
monster breaks the waves, rears up and crushes other bands like the
puny fishing vessels they are." Justin Quirk, i-D Magazine Last
yearÆs æTunnel MusicÆ single by Zongamin was one of those brilliant,
skewed musical moments that come along once in a while and makes
everything else sound ordinary. "Scratchy disco guitar licks, jumpy
post-punk bass rhythm, ping-pong drums and pelvis-thrusting time
changes, itÆs an unconscious but bona-fide modern disco classic." And
like everything else from Zongamin, itÆs unique.
The sounds of Zongamin have been forged throughout the amiable Susumu
MukaiÆs twenty-nine years. Born in Kanagawa, near Tokyo on the East
Coast of Japan, his peculiar outlook on the world evident throughout
his music can be traced right back to his earliest memory. "I
remember a visit to Ueno Zoo in Tokyo when I was about two years
old," he recalls. " I was with mother and we were feeding some
elephant seals. Although they were in an enclosure when one of them
opened its mouth for the fish I was holding it looked like a giant to
me. I was paralysed with fear."
At the age of four Susumu moved to Nara, near Osaka, in Western
Japan. A rural area, it meant he was able to kick it outdoors
exploring the forests, mountains and rivers with all the verve of a
young David Attenborough (check current single Spiral for b-side
proof of ZongaminÆs fondness for wildlife û æPenguin LoveÆ and æGiant
SquidÆ.) "There were lots of snakes, tortoise, lizards and frogs
there. I used to catch insects, which was a popular thing to do among
Japanese children. YouÆd catch a stag beetle and battle it with
friends beetles."
Besides training beetles to fight, the young Susumu also dug pyramids
(see album artwork) and dinosaurs, but was surprisingly indifferent
to the music his mother played at home. "My mother listened to a lot
of Western pop music," he remembers. "The Beatles, Blondie, Rod
Stewart and Musical Youth. The first concert she took me to was when
a Bob Marley tour came to Japan. She also followed Japanese pop music
like The Tigers. I remember it all but never actually paid it much
attention back then."
In 1985 Susumu moved to England to attend the famously liberal
Summerhill School in East Anglia. His time there had little bearing
on his future musical career until a friend helped him make his first
bass guitar. "We found it broken in a skip," he smiles. "It was
broken with a cracked head but at the time I was really into woodwork
so we made it into a working headless bass. Around this time I
started getting seriously into music. The first singles I bought were
the theme tune to Ghostbusters and FalcoÆs æRock Me AmadeusÆ. From
there I started making re-edits of my favourite songs, repeating
breaks and things on a double cassette deck. A lot of Prince, Art of
Noise and jazz-fusion bassists like Jaco Pastorius and Stanley
Clarke. Soon I started recording drum beats from a sm îall drum
machine onto one tape then plugging my guitar into the player and
recording both onto the other tape. They were terrible quality but
were my first recordings."
That DIY ethic is still prevalent throughout his album (most of which
was initially put together on an old four-track) where he ingenuously
adopts everyday devices and objects to make the sounds which make
Zongamin so unique. "ItÆs all unintentional though," he clarifies. "I
donÆt deliberately go looking to use odd objects. With the matchbox
on æSerious TroubleÆ I couldnÆt find a shaker that sounded as good.
And for the live shows I needed something to trigger samples with my
feet when I was playing bass. So I tried some cooking spatulas from
the kitchen and they worked really well. "
After leaving Summerhill Susumu eventually ended up studying for an
MA in London at the Royal College of Art. An accomplished
illustrator, he has contributed work to many magazines (Dazed and
Confused, Arena, Blueprint, LoDown and Sleazenation included), books
(for fashion house Silas, and printers Butler and Tanner), record
labels large and small (Universal, Monocle 78), nightclubs (Electric
Stew, CrackinÆ Skullz), Italian fabric company Industria Filatti
Tesutti Crespi, as well as being Head of Illustration at the
mysterious Flesh Records.
It was while at the Royal College of Art that Susumu met Mike Silver
aka Midnight Mike, the evil musical genius behind the Sonovac and
Soft Verge albums on Trevor JacksonÆs Output label, and more recently
his own occultist Flesh Records imprint. "As part of my end of year
graduation piece I made a Zongamin CD, it was the music of characters
I had drawn, a fictional band (all Zongamin artwork to date is based
around these three original illustrated characters). Mike was one of
the few people who bought the CD. He asked me if I wanted to
contribute some music for his label and I played him æOriginal
TroubleÆ.
We started working together for a Flesh compilation soon after and
æOriginal TroubleÆ ended up as æSerious TroubleÆ, my first single."
æSerious TroubleÆ blurred ESGÆs punk-funk elasticity and enough
four-track smarts and panache to catch the attention of a varied
selection of DJ s from Andy Weatherall to Soulwax, and leave most of
his peers eating hot dust.
Where 90% of dancing music is created on computer by people who canÆt
play any instruments, here was someone crafting something sonically
adventurous and soul-stirring with a bedroom full of musical tools
(man-made and Zongamin adapted) and a singular outlook.
On æTunnel MusicÆ SusumuÆs bass continued to dominate the mix with
his elephantine lines of funk, but this time the track was coupled
with a heavier disco production touch from Midnight Mike (the man
partly responsible for turning SusumuÆs musical tastes upside down
and inside out so he arrived where heÆs at today). With æTunnel
MusicÆ and æSerious Trouble being spun on dancefloors all over Europe
and featuring on countless mix CDs from æ2 Many DJsÆ to Trevor
JacksonÆs æDJ KicksÆ, XL did the decent thing and licensed the
Zongamin album from Flesh Records.
From the dramatic opening of the Arrows cover, æMake Love Not WarÆ,
to the haunted crypt closer, æMummiesÆ, Zongamin mixes a peculiar
brand of rock ænÆ roll and dance music. Trace elements include
Siouxsie and The Banshees, Miles Davis, Prince, Arthur Russell, The
Tornadoes, Bowie, Joy Division, The Cramps, Vincent Price era Horror
movies and a unique sense of humour. All bound together with an
unfailing knack for tuneful passion. "ItÆs mostly song free but I
think this a pop music album, " Susumu concludes. "Or at least pop
music as I like it to sound."
Dan Stacey, January 2003
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p l a y l i s t . . . . . . . . . . . ▀
01 Make Love Not War 01:55
02 Serious Trouble 03:45
03 Spiral 04:04
04 Street Surgery 2 03:44
05 Painless 03:38
06 Double Dostiev 03:50
07 Whiplash 01:59
08 J. Shivers Theme 03:30
09 Trespasser 03:30
10 New Song To An Old Story 04:51
11 Tunnel Music 05:28
12 Mummies 03:09
. .
43:23 min
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t h e p u r p o s e o f i t a l l . . ▀
digaphobia public sound specializes in releasing so-called
'intelligent dance music', experimental electronic music, dark
ambient, drone/noise, beat-laden indie, and a spot of techno.
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t h e h e a d s . . . . . . . . . . . ▀
peace to music lovers everywhere
1real agw amok chr cmg cms diss fuffens hit2k its just kw mgc
ms nuhs om pulsar pyt rac radial sb sfe sour tr tronik ube wos
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j o i n t h e a r m y . . . . . . . . ▀
looking for MD/DAT recordings of electronic music shows
track us down on IRC if you'd like to help
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a l w a y s r e m e m b e r . . . . . ▀
go to the show. buy the t-shirt. order the vinyl.
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