FIRE IN THE MIND (JANUARY 2007)
In the early eighties Mizutani was a member of Merzbow, but as you will hear on
this collection, he has since grown far away from that group's (now of course the
solo project of Masami Akita) hellish noise roller-coasters.
This is a double CD with field recordings collected from Mizutani's travels
throughout the Tanzawa mountain region on the island Honshu. Everything here is
quiet, calm and meditation. As on a lot of environmental recordings it is the water
and bird sounds that catch your hear immediately. That does not mean that we
are talking hazy new age shit here. Rather repeated listenings raise all kinds of
questions about sound, its attributes and functions.
On Scenery Of The Border the sounds and, foremost, the silences between them
make you realize that literally every sound source can become music. Of course
you will be privy to this fact when you often open your ears to noise, industrial and
Musique Concrète, all styles of music that, in a time of increased use of
micro-tonality, are using silence as a constitutive part of the music.
What environmental sounds also have in common with noise and improvisation is
that they are not composed as such. The chance of re-hearing these sounds is
slight unto non-existent. The question can then be asked whether it is useful at all
(let us for the sake of argument take for granted that listening to sound or music is
useful) to listen to such a record more than once. Derek Bailey once said that
recordings of improvisations (in a sense 'found sound' of its own) should be listened
to once and then thrown away.
There is of course always an ironic element in Musique Concrète. Mostly it is
constituted of sounds that are so common to us that we do no longer hear them,
let alone listen to them. In a sense then environmental sounds give post-industrial
man, estranged from nature as he is, the chance to experience nature in his living
room.
What is more peculiar about this double set is the fact that, apart from the far-away
song of a few devoted priests and a minute fragment of a village celebration, most
of the time any trace of humanity is missing from these sound environments. It is
as if mankind has been quietly and rapidly lifted from the face of the earth,
leaving only the earth itself, the animals, the plants, the rivers and waterfalls to
quietly murmur their ever continuing song, a song that was there long before the
first human appeared on the planet.
You realize too that the objects and buildings that man has left behind (his
factories and power plants and tunnels) will stop being of any use whatsoever
shortly after mankind's disappearance. It also points out how little the actual
percentage of human noise on this planet still is. We may be (to paraphrase Agent
Smith) be breeding like a virus, but in the end the greater part of the earth's
surface, uninviting as it is, is still completely unpopulated by human beings and,
thus, unblemished by sound emanating from humans.
All these considerations - which I will concede are all truisms - bring to mind Keiji
Haino's dictum that every artist should understand that in the beginning was not
(as vulgarized through the Bible, in turn taking its cue from Greek - and thus
western - philosophy) the word. Neither was it rhythm. Not at all: in the beginning
was vibration. Pure sound was there a whole long time before anyone (or anything
for that matter) ever uttered a single word. And it will be there long after the last
word has died out.
In the early eighties Mizutani was a member of Merzbow, but as you will hear on
this collection, he has since grown far away from that group's (now of course the
solo project of Masami Akita) hellish noise roller-coasters.
This is a double CD with field recordings collected from Mizutani's travels
throughout the Tanzawa mountain region on the island Honshu. Everything here is
quiet, calm and meditation. As on a lot of environmental recordings it is the water
and bird sounds that catch your hear immediately. That does not mean that we
are talking hazy new age shit here. Rather repeated listenings raise all kinds of
questions about sound, its attributes and functions.
On Scenery Of The Border the sounds and, foremost, the silences between them
make you realize that literally every sound source can become music. Of course
you will be privy to this fact when you often open your ears to noise, industrial and
Musique Concrète, all styles of music that, in a time of increased use of
micro-tonality, are using silence as a constitutive part of the music.
What environmental sounds also have in common with noise and improvisation is
that they are not composed as such. The chance of re-hearing these sounds is
slight unto non-existent. The question can then be asked whether it is useful at all
(let us for the sake of argument take for granted that listening to sound or music is
useful) to listen to such a record more than once. Derek Bailey once said that
recordings of improvisations (in a sense 'found sound' of its own) should be listened
to once and then thrown away.
There is of course always an ironic element in Musique Concrète. Mostly it is
constituted of sounds that are so common to us that we do no longer hear them,
let alone listen to them. In a sense then environmental sounds give post-industrial
man, estranged from nature as he is, the chance to experience nature in his living
room.
What is more peculiar about this double set is the fact that, apart from the far-away
song of a few devoted priests and a minute fragment of a village celebration, most
of the time any trace of humanity is missing from these sound environments. It is
as if mankind has been quietly and rapidly lifted from the face of the earth,
leaving only the earth itself, the animals, the plants, the rivers and waterfalls to
quietly murmur their ever continuing song, a song that was there long before the
first human appeared on the planet.
You realize too that the objects and buildings that man has left behind (his
factories and power plants and tunnels) will stop being of any use whatsoever
shortly after mankind's disappearance. It also points out how little the actual
percentage of human noise on this planet still is. We may be (to paraphrase Agent
Smith) be breeding like a virus, but in the end the greater part of the earth's
surface, uninviting as it is, is still completely unpopulated by human beings and,
thus, unblemished by sound emanating from humans.
All these considerations - which I will concede are all truisms - bring to mind Keiji
Haino's dictum that every artist should understand that in the beginning was not
(as vulgarized through the Bible, in turn taking its cue from Greek - and thus
western - philosophy) the word. Neither was it rhythm. Not at all: in the beginning
was vibration. Pure sound was there a whole long time before anyone (or anything
for that matter) ever uttered a single word. And it will be there long after the last
word has died out.
artist: KIYOSHI MIZUTANI
title: Scenery Of The Border
catalog number: and/22
release year: 2005 / 2006
format: CD x 2
status: sold out
title: Scenery Of The Border
catalog number: and/22
release year: 2005 / 2006
format: CD x 2
status: sold out
and/OAR is very pleased to present this double CD release by Japanese sound
artist Kiyoshi Mizutani. The second CD is a cross platform enhanced CD
containing audio that can be played on a regular CD player, plus two PDFs that
can be viewed on a computer.
One PDF contains a photo gallery of Kiyoshi's journey around the Tanzawa
mountain region of Japan. The second PDF contains a very large topographic
map with recording points corresponding to the track numbers. Since the map is a
very large file size, it is recommended that you drag the PDF onto your desktop for
faster viewing. The closer into the map one goes, the more detail of the
landscape one sees. Both the audio and the PDFs can be accessed at the same
time on a computer. The insert also contains a quick reference map
corresponding to each track number.
The audio portion of this release relays a kind of tranquil and introspective sonic
journey through the rugged yet mystical terrain. The region is full of historical
significance, natural beauty and folklore (as referred to in the title). Although this
release mostly features straight field recordings, there are also some composed
impressionistic moments that have been inherent in much of Kiyoshi's previous
work.
Also presented are recordings of certain Shinto and Buddhist ceremonies and
rituals rarely heard outside of Japan.
"These just released field recordings were made in the Tanzawa region southwest
of Tokyo. The Tanzawa range, a group of isolated mountains separating the areas
formerly known as Kai, Musashi, and Sagami, has a vivid history. It was the scene
of many historic conflicts, including the battle between Takeda and Hojo; a home
and hiding place for defeated soldiers fleeing the enemy; and the site of such
legends as the tragedy of the losing army's princess. It was also the location of the
Hasuge and Hinata ascetics' route, a few traces of which can still be found. The
recordings came about as a result of my interest in this mountainous "border"
region - the people who have lived there, the natural features, the scenery. In
addition to presenting Tanzawa as it is today, it sheds light on the area's past. The
recorded sounds can be divided into categories such as natural occurrences,
animals, man-made structures, and folk traditions. The combination of elements
found in a particular location determines the character of its atmosphere. To
make this CD, I put the different combinations together in a manner of a sonic
photo book. Rather than looking for a meaning in individual sounds, I suggest
listening with the feeling of gazing at various landscapes, one after another. In
any case, the cognitive consistency one maintains when listening to
contemporary music is not a requirement here." (Kiyoshi Mizutani)
artist Kiyoshi Mizutani. The second CD is a cross platform enhanced CD
containing audio that can be played on a regular CD player, plus two PDFs that
can be viewed on a computer.
One PDF contains a photo gallery of Kiyoshi's journey around the Tanzawa
mountain region of Japan. The second PDF contains a very large topographic
map with recording points corresponding to the track numbers. Since the map is a
very large file size, it is recommended that you drag the PDF onto your desktop for
faster viewing. The closer into the map one goes, the more detail of the
landscape one sees. Both the audio and the PDFs can be accessed at the same
time on a computer. The insert also contains a quick reference map
corresponding to each track number.
The audio portion of this release relays a kind of tranquil and introspective sonic
journey through the rugged yet mystical terrain. The region is full of historical
significance, natural beauty and folklore (as referred to in the title). Although this
release mostly features straight field recordings, there are also some composed
impressionistic moments that have been inherent in much of Kiyoshi's previous
work.
Also presented are recordings of certain Shinto and Buddhist ceremonies and
rituals rarely heard outside of Japan.
"These just released field recordings were made in the Tanzawa region southwest
of Tokyo. The Tanzawa range, a group of isolated mountains separating the areas
formerly known as Kai, Musashi, and Sagami, has a vivid history. It was the scene
of many historic conflicts, including the battle between Takeda and Hojo; a home
and hiding place for defeated soldiers fleeing the enemy; and the site of such
legends as the tragedy of the losing army's princess. It was also the location of the
Hasuge and Hinata ascetics' route, a few traces of which can still be found. The
recordings came about as a result of my interest in this mountainous "border"
region - the people who have lived there, the natural features, the scenery. In
addition to presenting Tanzawa as it is today, it sheds light on the area's past. The
recorded sounds can be divided into categories such as natural occurrences,
animals, man-made structures, and folk traditions. The combination of elements
found in a particular location determines the character of its atmosphere. To
make this CD, I put the different combinations together in a manner of a sonic
photo book. Rather than looking for a meaning in individual sounds, I suggest
listening with the feeling of gazing at various landscapes, one after another. In
any case, the cognitive consistency one maintains when listening to
contemporary music is not a requirement here." (Kiyoshi Mizutani)
VITAL WEEKLY (MAY 2006)
In the releases of the and/OAR label field recordings are always important, but the
label doesn't exclusively work with that. The double CD by Kiyoshi Mizutani should
be listened with headphone or in winter time with all windows closed. Recordings
were made in the Tanzawa Mountains, where-ever that might be, or why they are
special, I don't know. Probably it is some kind of holy place, since we hear some
tracks of people chanting. The majority of the pieces however deal with bird
sounds, water falls, rain but also a power-plant and a substation. All recorded with
no sound processing whatever, meaning all the recordings are presented in the
purest form. Some of the pieces mingle very nicely with your environment,
certainly when on hot spring day windows are open. Is that my bird or your bird,
Mizutani? A beautiful sound picture these two CDs, excellent recordings. A pity
that the information side is a bit sparse, but that would be my only complaint. The
pictures are great! (Frans De Waard)
In the releases of the and/OAR label field recordings are always important, but the
label doesn't exclusively work with that. The double CD by Kiyoshi Mizutani should
be listened with headphone or in winter time with all windows closed. Recordings
were made in the Tanzawa Mountains, where-ever that might be, or why they are
special, I don't know. Probably it is some kind of holy place, since we hear some
tracks of people chanting. The majority of the pieces however deal with bird
sounds, water falls, rain but also a power-plant and a substation. All recorded with
no sound processing whatever, meaning all the recordings are presented in the
purest form. Some of the pieces mingle very nicely with your environment,
certainly when on hot spring day windows are open. Is that my bird or your bird,
Mizutani? A beautiful sound picture these two CDs, excellent recordings. A pity
that the information side is a bit sparse, but that would be my only complaint. The
pictures are great! (Frans De Waard)
PARIS TRANSATLANTIC (JULY 2006)
Once a member of Merzbow, in recent times Kiyoshi Mizutani has shifted the
focus of his work towards field recording, capturing the reality of almost forgotten,
obscure signs of life. I became aware of his recent output through the fantastic
collaborations with Daniel Menche, Garden on Auscultare Research and Song of
Jike on Niko, on which the Japanese soundscaper weaves a timestretching mantle
of environmental recordings around the shoulders of his American partner. So
Scenery of the Border is not only a safe bet – it's a spiritual initiation. Tanzawa is a
Japanese mountain region whose desolate beauty is finely documented by the
author's photos in the exquisite cover artwork (more pictures are available on the
enhanced second disc). He applies the same basic principles to his recordings:
between November 2002 and February 2004 he took 24 aural snapshots of these
territories, translating broken silences, sacred ceremonies, background energies
and his own self-imposed solitude into a wholeness we can observe respectfully
while remaining in awe of acoustic phenomena that ignorance might define as
"normal" but which are essential for the organic life of our being, even when taken
out of their original context. Birdsong, for example (one of Mizutani's best albums,
Bird Songs on Ground Fault, consists of little else): chirps and whistles are
captured with such mastery you can almost see the morning light through the
branches and feel the dampness around you. Other impressive segments feature
the rustling noise of feet on fallen leaves, the poignant mumble of passing
airplanes (another favourite sound in this writer's emotional archive), the humming
of power plants and substations and the ominous severity of the wind brushing on
the microphone. But what really seems to be omnipresent is water: a continuous
flow of rain, waterfalls, streams and rivers, a moisture you can almost smell. The
path to awareness starts here. (Massimo Ricci)
Once a member of Merzbow, in recent times Kiyoshi Mizutani has shifted the
focus of his work towards field recording, capturing the reality of almost forgotten,
obscure signs of life. I became aware of his recent output through the fantastic
collaborations with Daniel Menche, Garden on Auscultare Research and Song of
Jike on Niko, on which the Japanese soundscaper weaves a timestretching mantle
of environmental recordings around the shoulders of his American partner. So
Scenery of the Border is not only a safe bet – it's a spiritual initiation. Tanzawa is a
Japanese mountain region whose desolate beauty is finely documented by the
author's photos in the exquisite cover artwork (more pictures are available on the
enhanced second disc). He applies the same basic principles to his recordings:
between November 2002 and February 2004 he took 24 aural snapshots of these
territories, translating broken silences, sacred ceremonies, background energies
and his own self-imposed solitude into a wholeness we can observe respectfully
while remaining in awe of acoustic phenomena that ignorance might define as
"normal" but which are essential for the organic life of our being, even when taken
out of their original context. Birdsong, for example (one of Mizutani's best albums,
Bird Songs on Ground Fault, consists of little else): chirps and whistles are
captured with such mastery you can almost see the morning light through the
branches and feel the dampness around you. Other impressive segments feature
the rustling noise of feet on fallen leaves, the poignant mumble of passing
airplanes (another favourite sound in this writer's emotional archive), the humming
of power plants and substations and the ominous severity of the wind brushing on
the microphone. But what really seems to be omnipresent is water: a continuous
flow of rain, waterfalls, streams and rivers, a moisture you can almost smell. The
path to awareness starts here. (Massimo Ricci)
SMALLFISH (JULY 2006)
This enchanting piece of environmental sound / field recording work is a
wonderfully relaxing and engaging way to begin or end your day. Believe me, I
was chilling to it last night and again first thing this morning. Mizutani has
captured the essence of the magical sounds that are to be found in the unspoilt
Japanese mountains (something I'm lucky enough to have experienced first hand).
Be it the gentle burbling of a river, the general ambience of the forested hillsides
or the hypnotic chanting in a Buddhist temple, he takes you on a voyage of
discovery that, for me, is easily up there with the work of Chris Watson. A
beautifully packaged and realised work. Superb. (Mike Oliver)
This enchanting piece of environmental sound / field recording work is a
wonderfully relaxing and engaging way to begin or end your day. Believe me, I
was chilling to it last night and again first thing this morning. Mizutani has
captured the essence of the magical sounds that are to be found in the unspoilt
Japanese mountains (something I'm lucky enough to have experienced first hand).
Be it the gentle burbling of a river, the general ambience of the forested hillsides
or the hypnotic chanting in a Buddhist temple, he takes you on a voyage of
discovery that, for me, is easily up there with the work of Chris Watson. A
beautifully packaged and realised work. Superb. (Mike Oliver)
WIRE (JANUARY 2007)
Record Of The Year - 2006 (Clive Bell)
Record Of The Year - 2006 (Clive Bell)
AQUARIUS RECORDS (APRIL 2007)
A few years back, Kiyoshi Mizutani ventured into the Tanzawa mountain range
located to the southwest of Tokyo in order to document the sounds of that very
isolated region. In the liner notes to this album, Mizutani explains that this region
enjoys a complex history with centuries worth of military endeavors and legends
including one tragedy which Mizutani alludes to about "the losing army's
princess." Needless to say, the mountains may have been of strategic importance
to any number of rival factions; but by now, their remoteness and desolation
harbors only a small population. He focuses his attention upon three aspects of
those mountains: the natural (which is the dominant voice of the Tanzawan
environment), the ceremonial folklore of the people, and the residual noise of the
man-made. Mizutani's love of bird sounds was evident on one of his early sound
works simply entitled Bird Songs; and the spirited chatter of many a bird dots
Mizutani's field recordings. Crickets, cicadas, and plenty of insect choruses also
feature into Scenery Of The Border, as does a broad range of watery recordings
from quiet drips from a misty rain to the immersive white noise of waterfalls. The
few recordings that feature a human presence are of restrained Shinto and
Buddhist ceremonies, which Mizutani mentions have rarely been heard outside of
that region. It's these ritualistic stompings and hushed bits of chanting that stand
amongst the highlights of this incredible field recording document. (Jim Haynes)
A few years back, Kiyoshi Mizutani ventured into the Tanzawa mountain range
located to the southwest of Tokyo in order to document the sounds of that very
isolated region. In the liner notes to this album, Mizutani explains that this region
enjoys a complex history with centuries worth of military endeavors and legends
including one tragedy which Mizutani alludes to about "the losing army's
princess." Needless to say, the mountains may have been of strategic importance
to any number of rival factions; but by now, their remoteness and desolation
harbors only a small population. He focuses his attention upon three aspects of
those mountains: the natural (which is the dominant voice of the Tanzawan
environment), the ceremonial folklore of the people, and the residual noise of the
man-made. Mizutani's love of bird sounds was evident on one of his early sound
works simply entitled Bird Songs; and the spirited chatter of many a bird dots
Mizutani's field recordings. Crickets, cicadas, and plenty of insect choruses also
feature into Scenery Of The Border, as does a broad range of watery recordings
from quiet drips from a misty rain to the immersive white noise of waterfalls. The
few recordings that feature a human presence are of restrained Shinto and
Buddhist ceremonies, which Mizutani mentions have rarely been heard outside of
that region. It's these ritualistic stompings and hushed bits of chanting that stand
amongst the highlights of this incredible field recording document. (Jim Haynes)
