Shurayuki-hime - Kanno Sugako [Self Release - 2016]Shurayuki-hime is one of the more recent wall-noise/static texturing projects of Newcastle Upon Tyne Liam M( of D.S.W.A.C.V, Tarot, and runner of Tera-AntiQu label). This release is a four track CDR/ digital album from the project, which themed around Japanese anarcho-feminist Kanno Sugako. The plain white CDR comes in a CD sized plastic sleeve- this features a folded black & white cover. On the front we have picture of Kanno Sugako, and on its reverse a write-up about Ms Sugako, the tracks recording details, and the projects web link. For those not familiar with Japanese history- Kanno Sugako (1881–1911) was an anarcho-feminist Japanese journalist by profession. And she wrote a series of articles about gender oppression, defending of freedom and equal rights for both men and women. In 1910, she was accused of treason by the Japanese government for her alleged involvement in what became known as the Kotoku incident, aimed at the assassination of Emperor Meiji. She was the first woman with the status of political prisoner to be executed in the history of modern Japan. Three of the four tracks here come in at dead-on the 10.01 mark, with only the third track coming in at 10.18( I’m guessing there is some deeper reason for this?!). Anyway each of the tracks is untitled, and the first track out of the gate brings together a dense tonal matt of the following: rapid ‘n’ ragged rumbling patter-nation, a blend rough jittering ‘n’ juddering, which is all underfed by a sustained yet reduced feedback buzz. It’s a rewarding opening track. The second track is just a subtle variation from the last ones textural make-up, as we have a dense though layer defined blend of the following elements: A constantly worming & ghosted rumble. A line of rough juddering ‘n’ jittering, and a line of beaded static crackle. Though there is some movement in this track, as around the mid-way point the rough judders ‘n’ jitters seem to get more active & crowded in their feel. Track three is another variation of the first two walls- as it brings together the following textures: A slightly buffing rip ‘n’ rumble, A thick meaty & tumbling judder, and a distant sustained drone feedback. In it’s later minutes there seems a more rattling & crusty judder occurring in the ‘wall’. I guess I’d say this track is my favourite of the four tracks here, due its rewarding blend of textures, and suffocating weight. And lastly on track four we have another variation of the meshed tonal setting, and this brings together: a tumbling ripping ‘n’ judder & a distant purring feed back tone. As the track progresses the rip ‘n’ judder seems to multiple somewhat, but this could just be a trick of the ‘wall’. So in summing this release offers up four variations in thick, often crusty, and low-end focused ‘wall-craft’. It’s no great departure from Liam M’s other work/ projects, but on the whole it’s consistent release, with each ‘wall’ offer up a subtle & rewarding variation on a theme. Roger Batty
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