act 131 · contagious orgasm · the cause of the flow · cd
tracklist:
in-tro, method of disappearance, in-to, invisible mass, funnyman, met-des, killed by the horse, and..., from the outside, to the inside, the gloomy sky, firewalker... the age of the rhythm
deleted
hiroshi hashimoto's evolution as an artist continues with this new piece of work. familiar c.o. themes like sexual obsession, religious ritualism and traditional japanese culture permeate "the cause of the flow" with a new-found subtlety. such themes will come as no surprise to those acquainted with hashimoto's early tape works. also built into the live and studio collages are rhythmic structures, inspired in part by collaboration with c.o.'s former percussionist marvel (who left c.o. in 2000). even with the replacement of acoustic beats by electronic ones, c.o.'s signature collages survive in a freshly melodic form. the perhaps over-used designation "soundtrack to a yet undone movie" is a perfect fit.
this disc should be enjoyed uninterrupted in a dark, warm room; sensory deprivation might further enhance the experience.
discography 06.2002:
the cause of the flow. cd. ant-zen act131. 2002
the flow of sound without parameter. cd. ground fault recordings. 2001
illegal occupation of ears. cd. old europa cafe. 2000
when thin skin splits. cd-r. sssm-027. 2000
the music which draws something. cd. sssm-025. 2000
auto se-id 00. cd-r. blade records. 1999
loop floor. 7". speeding across my hemisphere v,s,007. 1999
live at chelsea wien 30.11.1997. 7". syntactic dapp51. 1999
collaborations 1997. double tape. auscultare research 013. 1999
in my heart. 10". ant-zen act80. 1998
impregnate mannequin. lp. harbinger 005. 1997
subconsciously scrutinize sampling music. 10". dreizehn 1307. 1997
the examination of auditory sense. cd. ant-zen act41. 1996
defective merchandise. tape. slaughter productions spt90. 1996
seeking sensation scale music. lp. praxis dr. baermann th-16. 1996
a crown ornament for the wise. tape. less than zero ltz 005. 1995
hydrophobia. 7". ant-zen jed03. 1994
voltage controlled filter. cd. tesco 013. 1993
thin skinned. tape. sssm-003. 1989
confession of mannequin. tape. sssm-002. 1988
impregnate. tape. sssm-001. 1987
contagious orgasm website:www.geocities.jp/coolanatomy
reviews:
black #28
das neue album der japanischen contagious orgasm ist eine schöne überraschung und hat mich ehrlich gesagt fast umgehauen! begann das projekt in den 80'er jahren im power-electronics-noise-bereich und driftete dann 1996 mit der zweiten cd mehr in den collagenbereich über, um später live mit recht perkussivem sound aufzuwarten. ihre zweite cd für ant zen (nach unzähligen anderen veröffentlichungen) verbindet nun auf absolut atmosphärische weise intelligente sounds, knisternde klangcollagen und melodische rhythmen mit erotik-themen und dürfte somit einerseits zu dem zugänglichsten werk und anderseits verstörendsten der japaner gelten! "the cause of the flow" ist eine abwechslungsreiche reise mit ständig neuen entdeckungen und wendungen, welche gleichermaßen faszinieren wie verschrecken und man sich hierbei ganz auf seine eigenen sinne bzw. instinkte verlassen sollte, denn das digipack bzw. die japanischen tracknamen lassen keine andere hilfe zu. ein absolut empfehlenswertes album, für welches man sich aber richtig zeit nehmen und es unter kopfhörern genießen sollte! (m.f.)
canarias occulto
después del excelente trabajo "the flow of sound without parameter" nos llega la nueva catársis sonora del compostior japonés hiroshi hashimoto, que regala una vez más su particular forma de entender la música, realizando una contundente mezcla entre el dark ambient, los sonidos industriales, el noise menos agresivo y matices tan variopintos como la sexualidad y la antigua cultura japonesa. el digipack de "the cause of the flow" es una auténtica pasada, presentado de una forma elegante y con un diseño atrevido que, como única pega, es que hace falta entender japonés para saber lo que dicen los textos. en cuanto a la música, contagious orgasm construye su propia realidad a base de samples de todo tipo, algunos naturales, otros perfectamente editados, que hacen que su escucha sea una experiencia irrepetible. secuencias donde la voz de una mujer lleva las riendas, sonidos industriales, fondos de natureleza, samples de la música tradicional japonesa y, como no, melodias creadas por el propio hiroshi, se entrelazan magistralmente en 10 temas independientes entre si. un viaje calculado por todos los matices del noise y del industrial que hacen de este "the cause of the flow" un disco a tener muy en cuenta, más aún si eres de los que te gusta enriquecerte con trabajos tan experimentales. (vampwrath)
sonic seducer
die vermutlich unlärmigsten japanischen lärmtöner sind zurück und wie von contagious orgasm gewohnt fällt bereits das artwork (hier: grünliches, strukturiertes digipak) angenehm auf. wer co letztes jahr auf dem maschinenfest gesehen hat, konnte ja bereits einen kleinen vorgeschmack auf die entwicklung bekommen, die der sound der japaner, nicht zuletzt auch durch den weggang des percussionisten marvel, durchlaufen hat. statt "echter" schlagarbeit unterstützen nun elektronische beats hiroshi hashimoto's fabrikhallen-soundscapes, um in "killed by the horse" zu einen veritablen smasher für sci-fi fans verschmolzen zu werden. (sascha bertoncin)
side-line
an old school release on ant-zen again after all these new style hybrids. text book industrial ambient with a ritualistic, hypnotic twist. contagious orgasm has been around since the late 80's and has remained low profile even within the dark ambient/industrial scene. still, his name has been a staple. heavy, dense textures meet lush, hypnotic passages, asian instruments and female vocals and collide with frequency manipulations, outer worldly theremin wail and field recordings. the rhythmic barrage of groove and electronic pulse i was expecting after the outstanding performance at last year's maschinenfest is subdued in this release. the collage of sounds and moods is the main focus. a bit old-fashioned sounding, in parts reminding me of the eerie ritual soundtracks by hybryds and nocturnal emissions, but with the introduction of rhythmic waves a welcome and infectious expansion of his complex sound universe. (till)
toronto industrial kollektive
so i'm sitting at work listening to contagious orgasm when track 5 turns into track 6 and the music is sounding really quite oddly absurd. i look around and i see $100 000 dollars worth of pornography surrounding me; i'm being paid, underpaid really (although in truth, not really when i consider it from an unbiased opinion), to sell this and i'm hit again by the absurdity of everything, a world that not just allows something like this to spring forth, but when you think of it, a world from which this is necessary. the phone rings and i'm paged by the assistant manager, who says, "we have a foot fucker on line 1." and we did. somehow contagious orgasm seems to fit into this scenario perfectly. checking the ant-zen website, i discovered a write up that claims that the music deals with themes of sexual obsession, religious ritualism and traditional japanese culture. begining back in 1987 contagious orgasm's discography is quite entensive, and yet, this is, my first experience with them. so i have no idea about their progression, and can only comment upon this one album. the cause of the flow is very strange (as the japanese music i've heard often is) but also very good (as the japanese music i've heard often is), mixing together some unusual styles, such as traditional japanese, ambient, noise, guitar, and bizarre and wacky elements to bring about a unique outcome. their suggestion that "this disc should be enjoyed uninterrupted in a dark, warm room; sensory deprivation might further enhance the experience" is very appropriate and also gives you an idea of the sort of music that this disc contains. it also seems to work in a intensely bright-lit room utterly brimming with pornography. (squid)
the cause of the flow by contagious orgasm has a highly narrative quality, yet, unlike (pseudo) soundtrack work that would accompany visual images, this music is the movie, whether visuals pop into one's head to accompany it or not. what's the movie about? damned if i know. it's an art film. however, the music and track titles, like "method of disappearance," "killed by the horse, and ..." and "firewalker ... the age of the rhythm," evoke themes of mythic psychologies, peak experience, journeys through an underworld, carbonization and regeneration. what is the flow? open-ended space-time, matter as energy in precession, continuous self-creation, bodily fluids and procreation? what causes it? what is the unknown referent of these narratives? knowable or not, what does it sound like? most of the tracks feature long passages of found material, from dialogue to melody dialogue to sound effects, re-contextualized to the point where source is irrelevant and components found, manipulated and generated by contagious orgasm collapse into a cohesive whole. the numerous melodic passages on which many of the tracks hinge (and swing) feature violin, cello, piano, guitar, bass, and many more instruments i can't identify playing soulful, intelligent, solemn, austere (neo)-classical and "left bank ethnic" tunes. the sound effects and dialogues convey emotional, thematic, tonal and rhythmic weight. if there's a polyglot out there who "gets" all of it, i wonder, how much would it "help"? there is ambiance in spades, squeals, pings, undulations, and airy to portentous swaths. finally, there are rhythms: breakcore-inflected idm / ebm, casio-tone video game yamaha organ drum machine, cosmic bongos of psychedelic largesse (tibet over india as pilgrimage of preference). as for the tempting but inadequate comparisons, think improvisational noise and found sound experimenters such as amm or tetsuo furudate - only much less random and discordant - negativland minus the yucks and the politics, zeichnungen ...-era ... neubauten ("firewalker ... the age of the rhythm," for example, features analogous frills on a similar instrument to that which opens "armenia ii"), venetian snares right before everything gets totally nuts, neu!, the astounding tribal transomuba by pol ... there is a lot of "information" on this disc, and a lot of modes, carnival, classical, sci-fi death industrial, epic rhythmic ritual, "kraut-rock," frenetic idm, yet it is remarkably cohesive. it really, uh, flows.* (* bunny did a big pee in his cage just as i was punctuating that sentence.)
neural.it
dispetto di una discografia assai ricca e spesso di difficile reperibilità, hiroshi hashimoto riparte delle sue prime esperienze musicali e prospetta all'ascoltatore misteriose colonne sonore per omicidi a lungo premeditati. un'aria noir che mette i brividi e riempie di tensione i dieci brani del nuovo 'the cause of the flow', giocando a sostituire minimalismi elettroacustici (evidenti in 'in-tro') con sollecitazioni digitali dall'aspetto techno ('in-to'). spesso soffermandosi su registrazioni di voci e suoni concreti ('invisible mass'), altrimenti accostando grida, tuffi e violini, contagious orgasm organizza un collage di cultura giapponese e stacchetti televisivi occidentali; spesso ricoperte da suoni sinistri e ritmiche oblique, le composizioni non perdono un ottimo livello melodico nemmeno quando la musica sembra provenire dallo spazio inoltrato ('from the outside, to the inside'), mantenendosi nella penombra per poi scalfire e limare con tecniche abrasive. (michele casella)
la defunction
a veces uno se crea ciertos ídolos en esto de la música o quizás a veces idolatramos mucho a algunas bandas. este es el caso que me ha pasado con co. los tenía en un pedestal, los tenía sencillamente como los maestros del ambient-industrial. también se que las bandas a lo largo de los años evolucionan, a veces dentro del mismo estilo y otras hacia caminos diferentes, pero se me hace muy difícil comparar a los c.o. de ahora con los de antes. con esto no me estoy yendo muy lejos en el tiempo, sólo hace falta oir "the examination of auditory sense" del 96 ó "ilegal occupation of ears" del 2000, para darse cuenta del cambio. este álbum que nos ocupa ya no tiene esos ambientes oscuros, densos e industriales que te atrapaban y que convirtió a la banda en un referente en su estilo. nos encontramos con pura y dura experimentación electrónica. mucho sampleado, mucho ruidito, mucha base rítmica y mucha imaginación. si lo miramos desde ese punto de vista, ni mucho menos es un mal disco, pero .... lo siento me esperaba mucho más de esta banda. otro punto negativo es la total falta de información en el disco, las pocas palabras que vienen están en japonés, ni siquiera identificamos el nombre del grupo, y lo peor de todo es que está editado en un sello europeo, es que Ácuando nos queremos poner tan vanguardistas a veces la cagamos!
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