Ailack by Tetuzi Akiyama, Jason Kahn & Utah Kawasaki

Recorded live in concert at Kid Ailack Art Hall on February 22, 2004 at Kid Ailack Art Hall, Tokyo, Japan.

Thanks to Toshimaru Nakamura, Akihiro Sakamoto and Ami Yoshida.

REVIEWS

No less than six new releases on the Creative Sources label, placing the label right in the centre of improvised music.
[…] East meets west on the disc of Tetuzi Akiyama (tape-delayed electric guitar), Jason Kahn (analogue synthesizer and percussion) and Utah Kawasaki (dismantled roland synthesizer and cell phone). Their concert was captured in 2004 in Japan and displays the individual qualities quite nice. It's less silent than I would have expected, and throughout the sound is audible or maybe even a bit more noisy than I expected. There is a sort of continuous backdrop in the music from the ongoing feedback and synthesizer sounds over which loose sounds from the guitar and assorted percussion can be heard. This too is an intense listening experience. Frans de Waard (Vital)

Druga plyta tria zlozonego z czolowych przedstawicieli wspólczesnej muzyki "poszukujacej" na pewno nie zawodzi, ale niestety niczym szczególnym tez nie zaskakuje. "Ailack", podobnie jak wczesniejsza "Luwa", zawiera material zarejestrowany na zywo i podobnie jak ona przynosi muzyke dosc ascetyczna i wyciszona, jednoczesnie pelna wyraznie odczuwanego, podskórnego napiecia. Jedno, trawajace ponad trzydziesci minut, nagranie stanowi nasycona mikrodetalami improwizacje precyzyjnie spleciona z dzwieków analogowych syntezatorów, elektrycznej
gitary oraz okazjonalnie pojawiajacych sie instrumentów perkusyjnych.
Plyta niewatpliwie dobra, ale po jej wysluchaniu jakos niewiele zostaje w pamieci na dluzej. Tadeusz Kosiek (Gaz-Eta)

Taking its name from the venue in Tokyo where it was recorded, this is a live document of an improvised set where there's almost no difference between sound and ambience, such is the natural flow of sonic events characterizing this ménage à trois, the second outing (after 2000's Luwa on Rossbin) featuring Akiyama (tape-delayed guitar), Kahn (analogue synth and percussion) and Kawasaki (dismantled Roland synth, cell phone). Those expecting a predominantly static panorama might be occasionally disoriented by this unassuming box of tricks, which, if carefully opened, reveals an intriguing collection of tiny sonic gadgets that the late Roger Sutherland would surely have approved of. Magnetic particles and continuous electric humming mingle with barely audible investigations into instability, and guitar noise, disturbed oscillations and outside car engines are transformed into condensed blurring identities, the perfect representation of an egoless approach which works perfectly in this context. Massimo Ricci (Paris Transatlantic)

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)

[…] Les cristaux de glace stylisés et caractéristiques du graphisme de Jason Kahn ne déparent pas la collection. Ailack (CS 027 cd) est une audacieuse embardée post-industrielle électrogène qui s'écoute avec bonheur! Ses 34'20'' s'étirent dans les dispositifs instrumentaux de Tetuzi Akiyama (tape-delayed guitar), Jason Kahn (analogue synthesizer, percussion) et Utah Kawasaki (dismantled roland synthesizer, cell phone). Étant de nature un peu rébarbatif à ce type d'expérimentation, j'ai ici savouré les connivences subtiles de ce trio helvético-nippon enregistré au "kid ailack art hall" à Tokyo. Les cognoscenti vont peut - être hausser les épaules, mais soit!
Ce qui me touche particulièrement chez Creative Sources, outre son absence de dogmatisme, est qu'il ouvre la porte grande ouverte sur une nouvelle génération d'improvisateurs parmi lesquels certains sont aux abonnés absents de la scène (un peu plus) établie. Que ces disques ne soient pas tous des réussites importent moins que ce qu'ils nous font découvrir et deviner. Espérer aussi. […] Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg (Improjazz)

This CD was recorded at Tokyo’s Kid Ailack Art Hall in 2004 and there is a bit of line noise, but the performance is great. Unlike their duo CD “Till we meet again”, Akiyama and Kahn are turning their talents to a common goal and are met there by Kawasaki on dismantled Roland synthesizer and cell phone. The sounds coaxed by each member of the trio take on similar qualities, at times leaving me unsure who is creating which noise. And it really is all about the sounds here. We’ve got a pointillistic improv like the days of yore – little sounds mix together skillfully to make a lovely whole. Actually, given the number of electronic sounds, a better comparison might be David Tudor or Jerry Hunt. Sadly the entire disc is only a little over 34 minutes, but better to be just right in length than too much. Eric Lanzillotta (Bixobal)

Nur 34 Minuten dauert Ailack (CS 027), die konzertante Begegnung von TETUZI AKIYAMA, JASON KAHN & UTAH KAWASAKI. Der Titel rührt vom Auftrittsort her, in dem dieses Treffen am 22.2.2004 stattgefunden hat, die Kid Ailack Art Hall in Tokyo, der Heimatstadt der beiden 1976 dort geborenen Japaner. Kawasaki spielt ansonsten mit der Vokalextremistin Ami Yoshida im Duo Astro Twin. Zusammen mit Akiyama und dessen langjährigem Partner Taku Sugimoto bildet er auch Mongoose. Kahns Name ist mit seinen Releases auf dem eigenen Cut-Label so oft in BA vertreten, dass sich nähere Angaben erübrigen. Wie man es von seinen A-Bruit-Secret-einschlägigen Improvisationen und Kompositionen her kennt, setzte Akiyama als Klangerzeuger auch für Ailack eine tape-delayed electric guitar ein, Kawasaki einen dismantled roland synthesizer & cell phone, während Kahn mit Analogsynthesizer & Percussion operierte. Neben pointillistischer, tachistischer Perkussivität dominieren langwellige Drones, ominöses Knarren und statisches Grundrauschen das Klangbild, in das Akiyama seine sparsamen, gezielten, meist dunkel getönten Gitarrensounds injiziert. Dieser gezupfte, ganz poetische Minimalismus, den Sugimoto berühmt gemacht hat, deutet inmitten des insgesamt diskreten Hantierens, Rauschens und Rumorens, das aber diskante Frequenzspitzen nicht scheut, eine zarte Fluchtlinie ins Verträumte an. (Bad Alchemy)

Creative Sources releases a plethora of improv/jazz and experimental electronic music.
Founded in 2000.

creativesourcesrec.com