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Test Tone Anthology Disc 3

Test Tone Anthology Disc 3

Test Tone Anthology Disc 3This third disc in the Test Tone Anthology series pulls no punches, offering an insider's view of what goes on outside of business hours in downtown Tokyo. An exhilarating dose of tumultuous noise-rock, leftfield jazz freakouts and other explosive encounters make this a compilation for the truly brave at heart. With performances by L?K?O, Kuruu Crew, Damo Suzuki, Muddy World, and a legion international guests, this could in fact be the album that finally completes your collection. Everything you wanted to know about the underground but were afraid to ask.

Track List

Track 1: Oncenth Trio + Kenji 'Noise' Nakamura + Yasuyuki Takahashi

2009.01.09 Live at Test Tone 41

Oncenth Trio + Kenji 'Noise' Nakamura + Yasuyuki TakahashiThis is dangerous music! Innovative, daring and uncompromising, Oncenth Trio have always embodied the real spirit of jazz, and they continue to expand the language into new dimensions. With special guests Yasuyuki Takahashi + Kenji 'Noise' Nakamura, the music moves ever closer to teetering on the edge of a dangerous precipice.

Track 2: Nikkasen (Mitsuru Tabata + Tatsuhisa Yamamoto + Kelly Churko + Cal Lyall)

2009.01.09 Live at Test Tone 41

NikkasenNikkasen (lit. Japan-Canada battle), a unit pitting two Japanese improvising musicians (in this case, Mitsuru Tabata from AMT/Zeni Geva and drummer Tatsuhisa Yamamoto) against two cold-blooded Canadians (Kelly Churko from AKBK/Ossuary and Cal Lyall from Tetragrammaton/Jahiliyyah) for a round of rock sabotage.

Track 3: Mir (Daniel Buess, Michi Zaugg + Papiro)

2009.05.19 "Blockade" live at Test Tone 45

MirAn infernal combination of Daniel Buess on drum skins and metal, Michi Zaugg on modified synthesizers and dense feedback clouds, and Pampiro on 'sensitive strings', their music roars from beginning to end, with crescendos of spiraling electronics floating over the heavy and hypnotic rhythms.

Track 4: Muddy World

2009.08.11 "Beleth/March" live at Test Tone 48

Muddy WorldMuddy World's sound manages to mesh tight rhythms and complex song structures with passages of guitar wizardry, played deftly in a style that seems to have descended from psychedelic gypsies. If you picture Battles hiring Gabor Szabo or Sir Richard Bishop for a one-off gig, you might be getting close.

Track 5: Damo Suzuki + Yuriko Mukojima + Takashi Ueno + Yoshio Kuge

2007.03.13 Live at Test Tone 21

Damo SuzukiDamo's Network finally found a home at SuperDeluxe with the solid support of Yuriko Mukojima, Takashi Ueno (Tenniscoats) and Yoshio Kuge (Flying Rhythms). A choice match of violin, guitar and drums makes this meeting an ideal foil for Damo's 'instant-composition', from ambient drone-steeped nature calls to careening free rock freakouts.

Track 6: OreWaKonnaMonJanai (OWKMJ)

2009.03.10 "Siryo" live at Test Tone 43

OreWaKonnaMonJanai (OWKMJ)Always moving in new directions, we see the latest incarnation of Tokyo's OWKMJ moving towards more cyclic patterns in their compositions, but still retaining the punk deconstruction that sat on the edges of the band's sound since the beginning. Mixing psychedelic rock with vocal counterpoint lends a timeless flavour to the music, while at the same time remaining immediate and captivating.

Track 7: Tone Blues (Ryuta Kawabata + Akihiro Kubota + Takmi Iqeda + Toshihiko Kajii)

2007.07.03 Live at Test Tone 25

Tone BluesTone Blues is a heavyweight group brought to the Test Tone series courtesy of master musician and bluesman Ryuta Kawabata. He is joined by Akihiro Kubota, a pioneer in software art, audio-visual installations and internet performances, Takmi Iqeda, an individual voice in the field of electronic music and algorithmic visuals, and Pubicflower guitarist Toshihiko Kajii.

Track 8: L?K?O + Keigo Iwami + Buttercup Metal Polish (Nicolas Field + Alexandre Babel)

2009.01.09 Live at Test Tone 41

L?K?O + Keigo Iwami + Buttercup Metal PolishSwiss drummers Nicolas Field and Alexandre Babel (the two halves of percussive pair-up Buttercup Metal Polish) set out for structured and semi-structured improvisations, bundling raw energy with purposeful virtuosity. In this session, they are handed a heavy dose of deftly-handled turntablism courtesy of L?K?O, Tokyo finest black-magic turntable whisperer. Ramping it up a notch is Oncenth Trio's Keigo Iwami on contrabass, bringing this scraping and swerving crescendo of interplay to inspirational heights.

Track 9: AEN + Tatsuhisa Yamamoto

2008.11.11 Live at Test Tone 39

AEN + Tatsuhisa YamamotoA meeting between two fearless improvisors, AEN (aka Yasufumi Suzuki, director of the Commune Disc label and curator of the Soundroom event at Super Deluxe) and drummer Tatsuhisa Yamamoto (who has worked with Alan Silva and Jim O'Rourke amongst others) bring imagination and immediacy to the table for all to share. Makes you think that Wonderful Unhinged Musical Collision should be a genre of its own.

Track 10: Kuruu Crew

2009.01.09 Live at Test Tone 41

Kuruu CrewAn intense group with a penchant for big sounds, Kuruu Crew takes the primitive beats of speed-laced metal and puts them to a roadblock of noise and first-rate swuzz. However, underneath the resounding exterior lies a minimalism that reveals itself on repeated listenings. Manuel Göttsching meets Brainbombs?

Video Summary

Listen in to sample audio from all 10 tracks.