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Dusted Reviews
Artist: Salk Vacchin
Album: Rock Egypt
Label: God Mountain
Unique Ideas Given Free Reign
Trust Hoppy Kamiyama to uncover the bizarre and entertaining. The man behind
the God Mountain label, Kamiyama is a renowned Tokyo producer who's produced
bands such as the Pugs, DemiSemiQuaver, and eX-Girl. Now he brings us Salk
Vacchin, three girls from the island of Okinawa. Apparently the trio began
messing around with a cheap minidisc recorder, and discovered strange
reverse special effects that inspired them, and from there... Well, this is
pretty damn difficult to describe.
Let's start with a note from the God Mountain web site, about the label's
intentions: "There are many musicians who do not have their personalities to
popular music scene. An expression is made only with ability to express
original personality." It's undeniable that the bands from God Mountain are
original, and Salk Vacchin is another which doesn't really have any
comparable peers, though they call what they do "New Space Folk Music."
Titles like "Sable Tour," "Sao Tome Principe in Avocado," "Denfarle" and
"Monsieur Hee Hoo" may or may not offer clues to what's up here; but
probably not. "Sable Tour" is the first piece, and is actually somewhat
misleading. Its simplicity belies some of the bizarre sound collages that
follow. The trio combine piano trilling, a fast rolling snare, and group
harmonizing which manages to be in several keys at once while still somehow
working. Things really start with "Sao Tome Principe in Avocado," which
opens with strange sound effects: applause, a cat, a creaking door, birds
chirping. Cheap drum machine then comes in, together with an odd wavering
synth line. The vocals are like a chanted invocation, Patti Smith
reincarnated as a Japanese teenager, only to be swallowed up by weird
snippets of sound splattered around like an audio Jackson Pollock.
Other songs are cheerful ditties like "Maltese World," with its calm organ
tones, chiming bells, tinkling piano, and pretty vocal harmonies. "Denfarle"
features pleasant harmonies over a scattered snare beat and chanted main
vocal, as cute little synth sounds sproing and burble in the background.
"Yoru no Mado" picks up the pace with fast-paced piano and drums, high-speed
vocals -- essentially rapping -- alternating with a vibrato-filtered
sing-song chorus. At times the group approaches near-No Wave stylings with
completely out-there vocalizing, pounding piano and synth, and incessant
drums driving forward with bulldozer intensity. But it's still somehow
always got a sense of humor; the trio are probably having the time of their
lives.
The title song is a bit of a change, with some surprising pop-funk bass
playing supporting the clattering drum machine, tricksy piano, and
"tan-tan-tan" vocal rhythms. "Grapefluit" (sic) is a dramatic piece with
almost-out-of-tune vocalizing and ominous organ-like synthesizers. The short
album closes with "Ukusadie," another pretty piece with gorgeous echoing
vocals, cheapie Casio keyboard, and tinkling bells.
It's not always a good thing to be completely uncategorizable, but in this
case it's definitely a good thing. You're not likely to hear anything else
like this soon; the combination of low-fi approach, hi-fi recording, and
apparently untainted musical ideas is refreshing. It's great to find a case
of some kids with unique ideas being given the chance to make them a reality
in their own way. Kudos to all involved.
By Mason Jones
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