(Free Improvisation, Electroacoustic, Public Eyesore) [CD] Anla Courtis, Seiichi Yamamoto, Yoshimi (of Boredoms) - Live At Kanadian - 2008, FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Recorded live at Kanadian,
Osaka, Japan. 02/05/2005
Recording by Keiyu Takata
Artwork by Shoji Goto
A trio with two well known Boredoms stalwarts with the addition of 1/3 of the enigmatic group Reynols. No date listed on cd for time frame reference and only by the title alone can we assume it happened in "kanada". Upon listening to this document, you must focus on the aspect of "live", for it truly is a recording of a live show. No safety net of compression nor any other studio trickery, completely raw sound in the fashion of old Boredoms projects (leaning more towards an ambient Hanatarash or less aggressive 7vo7 ), which sounds like it was recorded straight off the mixing board. True Boredoms fans should still cling to the adventures of these Osaka artists have brought us and continue to bring us. The strangely kinetic freak-outs on this disc ebb and flow in a direction not that well documented for Yoshimi, but more in the territory of Courtis, with guitar riffs by Seichi Yamamoto that stand with confidence on his past offerings. Yet as we bath in the cacophony, we do not feel dirty but cleansed from presumptions of how music should be. An hour's worth of music that is both odd and wonderful. RECOMMENDED! - Chuck Bettis, Downtown Music Gallery
Since his Argentinian alt.rock supergroup Reynols relocated to the parallel universe of Minexcio four years ago, Alan (aka Anla) Courtis has been touring the world with a backpack-sized electric guitar and an even smaller home-made "toba" violin, playing and recording with musicians as diverse as Lasse Marhaug, Campbell Kneale and fellow globetrotter and ex-Can frontman Damo Suzuki. This latest outing in what is already a huge discography (I sometimes wonder if Courtis himself has all the records on which he's appeared) was recorded in Osaka in 2005 and finds the Argentinian troubadour in the company of Boredoms' Yoshimi and the equally alarmingly prolific Seichi Yamamoto in four sprawling tracks, three exploring the available duo combinations and one trio. After an opening salvo of snarling guitar psychedelia (Courtis and Yamamoto) that starts out tentatively and ends suddenly, the album settles into a more contemplative free folk vein, with Yoshimi's otherwordly wails and lo-fi keyboard arpeggios well complemented by the thin tinny scribbles of Courtis' fiddle. The Yamamoto / Yoshimi duo follows the same winding garden path, Yamamoto weaving long lines of guitar round Yoshimi's glistening sho-like drones and subtle pulsing. Imagine Jerry Garcia beamed back in time to eighth century Nara. With no bass to pull it downwards, the 26-minute closing trio floats freely in the upper atmosphere, sometimes so spaced out it manages to lose itself. Not that it's a problem: there's no need to expect this music to do more than follow its own nose. You can, after all, enjoy a walk in the forest knowing full well you'll never be able to retrace your exact steps next time round. - Dan Warburton, The Wire
It doesn’t take a psychic to figure that two members of the Boredoms and one from Reynols getting together for live improvisations are probably not going to be creating smooth jazz or g-funk era R&B. Across the four tracks and all possible permutations of the trio (the first three tracks feature each working as duos before the final full trio lineup), there’s enough psychedelic tomfoolery to satisfy even the most jaded of adventurous listeners. Chaos is the name of the game here, yet in a somewhat controlled manner. There are tinges of old school Boredoms or Hanatrash here, but in a decidedly less brutal, more restrained state of mind. The first track of four, a duo of Courtis and Yamamoto, is a lot of guitar noodling through a battery of delays, occasionally plaintive keyboard tones as well that grow a bit harsher as it clicks on. At its peak, the din of noise is like a field recording of a steel mill…and someone thought it was “bring your kid to work day” and the kid is teaching himself guitar in the middle of all of the machinery. More expansive is the track of Yoshimi and Courtis, which lets the Boredoms member yell and shriek over live layering effects as both abuse their guitars and synths, but letting enough silence and near silence build between outbursts to give them more of a punch. The Yamamoto/Yoshimi track does give a Boredoms reunion feeling to it, a batch of headache inducing sustained keyboards and guitar banging that, at times, conjures up a wonderfully 1980s hair metal vibe where the listener can almost picture Yamamoto flailing around, teased hair and spandex, with his tongue out to get those hightest notes possible to come out of that poor six-stringed instrument. The climax is the full on trio playing together and, clocking in at 26 minutes (essentially twice as long as the other pieces), it does not let me down. The sound is bolder and more aggressive, Yoshimi's vocals are more commanding, the guitar is more fuzzed out and grinding, and there is a sense of big, spacious metallic rhythms. However, the track is just as willing to mellow out and let in some calm piano playing and open air as well, keeping things fresh and moving. As chaotic as it all is, there is a lot to enjoy here and to focus on among the variation. The album has a very raw feeling to it: it sounds like there was little in the way of post-production or heavy mastering done in order to preserve that immediate feeling that the live performances surely had. Although listeners may have to adjust volume levels to find a level that gives maximum impact, it is worth the effort. - Creaig Dunton, brainwashed.com

Yoshimi: voice, keyboard & percusion
Seiichi Yamamoto: electric guitar & percusion
Anla Courtis: e-guitar, toba violin & tapes