Regardless of what some may think upon giving this release a cursory listen, it
is not "just another collection of field recordings from somewhere in Asia".
Those with the capacity to listen to such a release with some degree of
"poetical imagination", will discover a rather peculiar release that is "an
enigma wrapped inside a mystery." Shisō contains 34 field recording vignettes
made on the Japanese islands of Honshu and Shikoku. Some of the recordings
are longer versions of the tracks that were part of the Palimpsest exhibit on
the Stasis_space website. The recordings contain no processing outside of
fades and there are also 34 silent tracks of varying length, making the total
track number 68 in all. This is another release that is highly recommended to
be played while in the random/shuffle mode on your CD player.
Addendum: Very reminiscent of the work of Yasujiro Ozu - in particular his use
of "pillow shots" which a/O later paid homage to with the various artist project
"Yasujiro Ozu - Hitokomakura" (and/26). Of course Koura (Brian Labycz) was
one of the participants.
Cover design by Brian Labycz & Dale Lloyd.
Packaged in a DVD case.
is not "just another collection of field recordings from somewhere in Asia".
Those with the capacity to listen to such a release with some degree of
"poetical imagination", will discover a rather peculiar release that is "an
enigma wrapped inside a mystery." Shisō contains 34 field recording vignettes
made on the Japanese islands of Honshu and Shikoku. Some of the recordings
are longer versions of the tracks that were part of the Palimpsest exhibit on
the Stasis_space website. The recordings contain no processing outside of
fades and there are also 34 silent tracks of varying length, making the total
track number 68 in all. This is another release that is highly recommended to
be played while in the random/shuffle mode on your CD player.
Addendum: Very reminiscent of the work of Yasujiro Ozu - in particular his use
of "pillow shots" which a/O later paid homage to with the various artist project
"Yasujiro Ozu - Hitokomakura" (and/26). Of course Koura (Brian Labycz) was
one of the participants.
Cover design by Brian Labycz & Dale Lloyd.
Packaged in a DVD case.
artist: KOURA
title: Shisō
catalog number: and/12
release year: 2003
format: CDR
status: sold out
title: Shisō
catalog number: and/12
release year: 2003
format: CDR
status: sold out
REVIEWS
EAR / RATIONAL (APRIL 2004)
One thing that is nice about this field recording disc is that some of the
tracks fade in and out slowly, I hate when these field recording CDs just cut
in and out, very jarring to the atmosphere they create. The fades on this
disc create a dreamy effect - the first track seems like a recorder left on in
an apartment, the second inside a train or subway. These are glimpses of
life, the things we take for granted. Things like street scenes and your
apartment neighbor's TV being on, but you can barely hear it though they are
fed back to us, and you notice what you hear when you stop this disc. Some
of the tracks are more exotic, but they are things you want to hear when you
are at home. The exotic tracks include ocean waves and a series of short
tracks of a religious ceremony, walking in a park, machines in nature,
people talking, and many others. Keeping the tracks short is an odd/fresh
way to put this all together. (Don Poe)
One thing that is nice about this field recording disc is that some of the
tracks fade in and out slowly, I hate when these field recording CDs just cut
in and out, very jarring to the atmosphere they create. The fades on this
disc create a dreamy effect - the first track seems like a recorder left on in
an apartment, the second inside a train or subway. These are glimpses of
life, the things we take for granted. Things like street scenes and your
apartment neighbor's TV being on, but you can barely hear it though they are
fed back to us, and you notice what you hear when you stop this disc. Some
of the tracks are more exotic, but they are things you want to hear when you
are at home. The exotic tracks include ocean waves and a series of short
tracks of a religious ceremony, walking in a park, machines in nature,
people talking, and many others. Keeping the tracks short is an odd/fresh
way to put this all together. (Don Poe)
