Keiji Haino / Jim O'Rourke / Oren Ambarchi
Caught in the dilemma of being made to choose
Another major work from Haino, O'Rourke and Ambarchi, this one features a side-long bell and gong piece inspired by Tibetan Buddhist music, and a suite of recordings from a performance at Tokyo's SuperDeluxe. Heavy duty!
You'd think with ten albums in the can already, Haino, O'Rourke and Ambarchi would be running out of steam, but this latest 2LP is another throbbing harness of creative energy. The opening 23-minute composition, with Haino on metal percussion, Ambarchi on gongs and bells, and O'Rourke on electronics, is proof that they're impossible to pigeonhole. Inspired by Tibetan Buddhist music, the trio form rhythmic clusters of tuned percussion into a dense fog of resonant sound that's somewhere between Orthodox church bells and gamelan. O'Rourke's restrained tones mimic the bells, adding an artificiality without interrupting the sonic superstructure, and Haino leads - at least in the first half - with a performance that's as manic as it is compelling. Ambarchi's gongs and chimes take more of a central role in the final third, when we're shuttled into a meditative space for a few moments.
The rest of the record is more traditionally structured for the trio, with O'Rourke on Hammond organ, Ambarchi on guitar and Haino on drums evoking Fushitsusha. Not trained as a drummer, Haino brings his unstoppable freeform energy to the instrument, breaking out into thunderous rhythmic blasts as Ambarchi and O'Rourke eke out Phibesian drone atmospheres on the lengthy 'Thinking too deeply I skipped over ¯¯ three by three'. After a short spoken word section, Haino picks up his guitar and the mood is set for the rest of the record: teeth-gnashing fuzz and hi-octane rhythms, occasionally cooled by O'Rourke's deceptively amniotic organ tones. The final track's intro lulls us into a false sense of security, and the when the sacred organ wobble are met by Haino's crude, corrosive grind, it sounds like chalk and cheese shaking hands finally.
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Another major work from Haino, O'Rourke and Ambarchi, this one features a side-long bell and gong piece inspired by Tibetan Buddhist music, and a suite of recordings from a performance at Tokyo's SuperDeluxe. Heavy duty!
You'd think with ten albums in the can already, Haino, O'Rourke and Ambarchi would be running out of steam, but this latest 2LP is another throbbing harness of creative energy. The opening 23-minute composition, with Haino on metal percussion, Ambarchi on gongs and bells, and O'Rourke on electronics, is proof that they're impossible to pigeonhole. Inspired by Tibetan Buddhist music, the trio form rhythmic clusters of tuned percussion into a dense fog of resonant sound that's somewhere between Orthodox church bells and gamelan. O'Rourke's restrained tones mimic the bells, adding an artificiality without interrupting the sonic superstructure, and Haino leads - at least in the first half - with a performance that's as manic as it is compelling. Ambarchi's gongs and chimes take more of a central role in the final third, when we're shuttled into a meditative space for a few moments.
The rest of the record is more traditionally structured for the trio, with O'Rourke on Hammond organ, Ambarchi on guitar and Haino on drums evoking Fushitsusha. Not trained as a drummer, Haino brings his unstoppable freeform energy to the instrument, breaking out into thunderous rhythmic blasts as Ambarchi and O'Rourke eke out Phibesian drone atmospheres on the lengthy 'Thinking too deeply I skipped over ¯¯ three by three'. After a short spoken word section, Haino picks up his guitar and the mood is set for the rest of the record: teeth-gnashing fuzz and hi-octane rhythms, occasionally cooled by O'Rourke's deceptively amniotic organ tones. The final track's intro lulls us into a false sense of security, and the when the sacred organ wobble are met by Haino's crude, corrosive grind, it sounds like chalk and cheese shaking hands finally.
Another major work from Haino, O'Rourke and Ambarchi, this one features a side-long bell and gong piece inspired by Tibetan Buddhist music, and a suite of recordings from a performance at Tokyo's SuperDeluxe. Heavy duty!
You'd think with ten albums in the can already, Haino, O'Rourke and Ambarchi would be running out of steam, but this latest 2LP is another throbbing harness of creative energy. The opening 23-minute composition, with Haino on metal percussion, Ambarchi on gongs and bells, and O'Rourke on electronics, is proof that they're impossible to pigeonhole. Inspired by Tibetan Buddhist music, the trio form rhythmic clusters of tuned percussion into a dense fog of resonant sound that's somewhere between Orthodox church bells and gamelan. O'Rourke's restrained tones mimic the bells, adding an artificiality without interrupting the sonic superstructure, and Haino leads - at least in the first half - with a performance that's as manic as it is compelling. Ambarchi's gongs and chimes take more of a central role in the final third, when we're shuttled into a meditative space for a few moments.
The rest of the record is more traditionally structured for the trio, with O'Rourke on Hammond organ, Ambarchi on guitar and Haino on drums evoking Fushitsusha. Not trained as a drummer, Haino brings his unstoppable freeform energy to the instrument, breaking out into thunderous rhythmic blasts as Ambarchi and O'Rourke eke out Phibesian drone atmospheres on the lengthy 'Thinking too deeply I skipped over ¯¯ three by three'. After a short spoken word section, Haino picks up his guitar and the mood is set for the rest of the record: teeth-gnashing fuzz and hi-octane rhythms, occasionally cooled by O'Rourke's deceptively amniotic organ tones. The final track's intro lulls us into a false sense of security, and the when the sacred organ wobble are met by Haino's crude, corrosive grind, it sounds like chalk and cheese shaking hands finally.
Another major work from Haino, O'Rourke and Ambarchi, this one features a side-long bell and gong piece inspired by Tibetan Buddhist music, and a suite of recordings from a performance at Tokyo's SuperDeluxe. Heavy duty!
You'd think with ten albums in the can already, Haino, O'Rourke and Ambarchi would be running out of steam, but this latest 2LP is another throbbing harness of creative energy. The opening 23-minute composition, with Haino on metal percussion, Ambarchi on gongs and bells, and O'Rourke on electronics, is proof that they're impossible to pigeonhole. Inspired by Tibetan Buddhist music, the trio form rhythmic clusters of tuned percussion into a dense fog of resonant sound that's somewhere between Orthodox church bells and gamelan. O'Rourke's restrained tones mimic the bells, adding an artificiality without interrupting the sonic superstructure, and Haino leads - at least in the first half - with a performance that's as manic as it is compelling. Ambarchi's gongs and chimes take more of a central role in the final third, when we're shuttled into a meditative space for a few moments.
The rest of the record is more traditionally structured for the trio, with O'Rourke on Hammond organ, Ambarchi on guitar and Haino on drums evoking Fushitsusha. Not trained as a drummer, Haino brings his unstoppable freeform energy to the instrument, breaking out into thunderous rhythmic blasts as Ambarchi and O'Rourke eke out Phibesian drone atmospheres on the lengthy 'Thinking too deeply I skipped over ¯¯ three by three'. After a short spoken word section, Haino picks up his guitar and the mood is set for the rest of the record: teeth-gnashing fuzz and hi-octane rhythms, occasionally cooled by O'Rourke's deceptively amniotic organ tones. The final track's intro lulls us into a false sense of security, and the when the sacred organ wobble are met by Haino's crude, corrosive grind, it sounds like chalk and cheese shaking hands finally.
2LP in gatefold sleeve with inner sleeves containing live pics by Tsuyoshi Kamaike. Photography by Jim O’Rourke, design by Lasse Marhaug and translation by Alan Cummings.
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Another major work from Haino, O'Rourke and Ambarchi, this one features a side-long bell and gong piece inspired by Tibetan Buddhist music, and a suite of recordings from a performance at Tokyo's SuperDeluxe. Heavy duty!
You'd think with ten albums in the can already, Haino, O'Rourke and Ambarchi would be running out of steam, but this latest 2LP is another throbbing harness of creative energy. The opening 23-minute composition, with Haino on metal percussion, Ambarchi on gongs and bells, and O'Rourke on electronics, is proof that they're impossible to pigeonhole. Inspired by Tibetan Buddhist music, the trio form rhythmic clusters of tuned percussion into a dense fog of resonant sound that's somewhere between Orthodox church bells and gamelan. O'Rourke's restrained tones mimic the bells, adding an artificiality without interrupting the sonic superstructure, and Haino leads - at least in the first half - with a performance that's as manic as it is compelling. Ambarchi's gongs and chimes take more of a central role in the final third, when we're shuttled into a meditative space for a few moments.
The rest of the record is more traditionally structured for the trio, with O'Rourke on Hammond organ, Ambarchi on guitar and Haino on drums evoking Fushitsusha. Not trained as a drummer, Haino brings his unstoppable freeform energy to the instrument, breaking out into thunderous rhythmic blasts as Ambarchi and O'Rourke eke out Phibesian drone atmospheres on the lengthy 'Thinking too deeply I skipped over ¯¯ three by three'. After a short spoken word section, Haino picks up his guitar and the mood is set for the rest of the record: teeth-gnashing fuzz and hi-octane rhythms, occasionally cooled by O'Rourke's deceptively amniotic organ tones. The final track's intro lulls us into a false sense of security, and the when the sacred organ wobble are met by Haino's crude, corrosive grind, it sounds like chalk and cheese shaking hands finally.