Ground Zero "Consume Red" CD (Japan, 1997) Otomo Yoshihide

Description: Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE Here we have the opening salvo of an astonishing conceptual art/sound project from Otomo Yoshihide and his group project GROUND ZERO: Consume Red, a Japanese import CD released in 1997 by the Creativeman label. This disc was the first and finest part of Consume/Consuming Ground Zero, a three-CD series that took the concept of sampling and manipulation of recorded sound to dizzying extremes. Yoshihide is perhaps the pivotal figure in the Japanese experimental music scene… and this project, his frontal assault on the arbitrary nature of “copyright,” is easily one of the most amazing works in his resume. In this first part of the trilogy, Yoshihide samples the music of Korean national treasure Kim Suk Chul on the hojok, a reed instrument of the oboe family. It produces a loud, piercing sound that resonates with a bagpipe-like intensity. This sound is gradually interrupted and accompanied by Ground Zero (Yoshihide: guitar, turntables, Uchihashi Kazuhisa: guitar, effects, Matsubara Sachiko: sampler, Kikuchi Naruyoshi: sax, Tanaka Yumiko: shamisen, Nasuno Mitsuru: bass, Uemura Masahiro: drums, Yoshigaki Yasuhiro: drums), and the glorious results are described thusly by the label: “a single squalling blast from an ancient sounding horn is overlaid with a steady building sound collage of sampled noise static, guitar overload, instrumental anarchy, and a drum duo who hammer home a beat that is subtly constructed yet relentless in its attack.” It's one hell of a piece, over an hour of twisted ambience that will leave you slackjawed. (For Conflagration, Part Two of the series, six extreme architects of sound to deconstruct the Consume Red disc; and on Part Three, Consummation, Yoshihide took the idea to an even crazier extreme, challenging the Listening Public to “consummate the operation” and reconstruct the material themselves and send him the results, using only the first two volumes of the series as the sound source.) All three volumes are impressive, but in musical terms, this first disc is unquestionably the best of the bunch, a bracing aural tonic to thrill those with a good ear for crazy noise. This is the Japanese import version, which is housed in a beautiful digipak that looks much nicer than the US edition, and includes a nifty poster/foldout with the cover art, notes and a coupon for sending in your mix for Volume Three. (Sorry, bud -- you missed your chance.) The whole package is in gorgeous, near-mint shape, and the obi is intact and included.

Price: 15 USD

Location: Brentwood, California

End Time: 2024-11-10T05:28:27.000Z

Shipping Cost: 5 USD