The title, ‘Seitō’ takes its name from a magazine created by 5 Japanese feminists published from 1911-1916. The publication, also known as Bluestocking, was Japan’s first all-women magazine which promoted gender equality through literature and education. Its first line was “in the beginning, woman was the sun…” It would later be banned.
The record, a homage to the first print issue of Seitō explores a cast of seven female artists, Fuji, Kiki, Mikado, Miki, KAKUSHIN, Kuunatic, Keiko, each a member of the contemporary Japanese experimental and noise scenes. Each song, like every actor on the record, is different with its own unique style. Now strap yourselves in for this one, its a mad one.
This is not a listen for the faint-hearted. Eerieness and tar are at its core, it’s dark, pinning you to the floor. Quick-sand-music. A complete saga of orchestrated chaos. We go from ethereal, psychedelia to experimental electronic dub. Traditional kabuki and Koto instruments are only heard under untraditional and unorthodox settings. Though crazy, It’s hypnotising and ultimately enticing, to be honest.
However, don’t get me wrong, there are instances that a casual to noise music like me switches completely off at I must admit, some of it is utterly perplexing. I can listen to some of Yoko Ono but that’s as far as I have gone into noise so forgive me for some things going clean over my head. One example, Kakushin’s offering, is like if the ghost of Ravi Shankar met Ono in some sort of psychedelic, occult nightmare. Just. Total. Chaos. I had to take a break at that point.
But, as with anything abstract and surreal, there are many rewarding aspects to paying the subject attention as art. The female perspective of inequality and suffering are the embodiment of its chaos. Angelic figures meet ghoul-like chants and screams as there is most definitely method in the madness. Though noise music can make the bottom drop out of your arse proverbially, it gives back as much as you put in. Here, the hypnotic trance aspects are excellent escapism.
As a casual fan of Avante Garde arty stuff, I’ve been known to enjoy the pretentious side of what others would call “indulgence” in music. Feel free to hurl insults now. But, stuff that is otherworldly to me, fascinates my imagination. This is not for everyone, by any stretch of the imagination. And understandably so. But, it’s a release that you could easily see backing a brilliant piece of visuals. It’s cinematic, theatrical and a complete horror.
Haiku Review
Japanese folk music,
Fused with atmosphere and noise,
Makes for good listen,
You can hear the album on Spotify and Apple Music. Find the record on Bandcamp.
