The Saboten
Beyond the Blue Heaven
God Mountain
2003{8.9}
Reviewed by: Ed Howard
Reviewed on: July 7, 2003
Although he is not exactly a household name, God Mountain Records label
owner Hoppy Kamiyama has been all over the largely Japan-centric electronic
noise scene in the past quarter of a century. After a brief stint on a major
label in the early 90s, Kamiyama formed his own imprint and began releasing
a string of solo albums, collaborations, and releases with various bands. In
the process, he is worked with everyone from John Zorn to George Clinton,
amassing a tremendous back catalogue of recordings on his own label and
others.
With the Saboten, his long-running collaboration with fellow noiseheads
Saguaro and DJ Force, Kamiyama creates dense, hypnotic electronic-based
music that he describes as Sun Ra meets Kraftwerk.・It is a fitting
description for Beyond the Blue Heaven, the sixth Saboten album, as elements
of noise, techno, and avant-jazz blend into a multifaceted river of sound.
The album is liner notes credit the three musicians with a baffling set of
instruments (Ass hole box,・Psychic monitor,・Gram pot・, so it is next to
impossible to tell who is playing what; the sound field is packed with a
vast array of drones, rhythms, Saguaro is often-funky guitar, horns, and
electronic accents, all weaving together into a towering whole.
The album is split into two massive tracks, the half-hour Hellicoid Spume
and the 25-minute NOK,・which comprise the two opposing sides of the group
is self-declared Kraftwerk/Sun Ra dichotomy. The former track is comprised
almost entirely of bass-heavy drones and pulsating synth waves, slow echoes
fading into the ether. Cyclic drones pan across the stereo field as sampled
strings, clattering rhythms, and squiggly turntable scratches rise from the
depths. It is a completely enveloping experience, verging on ambient but far
too rich with detail and beauty to ever really sink into the background the
way Eno is original definition of ambient stipulated. There is so much going
on in any individual moment of this piece that it becomes nearly
overwhelming, and yet the surface of the music is transparent, nearly
tranquil, lulling you into a deep trance through seeming repetition that
disguises the fertile variety of activity going on underneath. Entire
undersea ecosystems lurk within the depths of this track, and it is well
worth revisiting again and again to discover their intricacies.
If Hellicoid Spume・is the Kraftwerk side of the Saboten is unique musical
equation, NOK・represents the Sun Ra side. Abandoning the cooler, subtle
abstractions of the previous composition, NOK・opens with a massive
explosion of chaotic free-jazz horns and frenzied non-rhythmic drumming.
This track is a continual up-and-down cycle, alternating between moments of
tranquil jazz -- dominated by insistent bass and agile drumming -- and
spurts of unrestrained blowing. The six-piece horn section flows throughout
this piece, breathing absolutely gorgeous melodies up through the layers of
rhythmic noise and electronic debris which here take a backseat to the jazz
band. Squealing keyboard lines duel with harsh sax solos, but it is the
drumming that ultimately comes up victorious. Tatsuya Yoshida (of Ruins)
guests on the skins for this track, and his skipping rhythms and aggressive
bashing forge the entire forward motion for the song. This is intense and
invigorating music, unrelenting in its enthusiasm and breathtaking in its
virtuosity. Towards the end, the jazz band becomes increasingly swallowed in
the primordial stew of the Saboten is electronics, pierced through with
high-frequency buzz and industrial clamor, returning the album to its
initial state of electronic hypnosis.
Beyond the Blue Heaven is a startlingly good album, its two mammoth tracks
acting as opposite poles along the electronic/jazz axis. The Saboten is
music is certainly diverse, and yet their multiple influences and styles don
稚 sit uncomfortably against each other. Rather, on this album Sun Ra mates
with Kraftwerk (and who knows how many other bands) in a bizarre, funky,
beautiful dance of love.
http://www.stylusmagazine.com/musicreviews/the_saboten-beyond_the_blue_heaven.shtml
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