Aki Onda — Cassette Memories-Volume 3: South Of The Border

South of the Border is an audio documentation of Aki Onda’s travels in Mexico. As a child, Mr. Onda grew up with a very fantastical and surreal impression of Mexico. These impressions were largely informed by old videos his father took as a visiting member of the Japanese National Hockey Team in the 68’ Olympics and Alejandro Jodorowsky’s film El Topo.  In 2005, he finally had the opportunity to travel to Mexico and see for himself if this was in fact the fantastical land he dreamed of as a child.

The first two tracks are extremely minimalist. In fact that the first track had no sound at all. He mentions that 2 of his 3 tape recorders became damaged during his travels, but he still used them as best he could. Of course, those with an appetite for experimental music know that broken equipment can often provide some interesting, unintended sounds. Given that fact, it’s hard to tell if the first track “A Day of Pilgrimage” is silent intentionally or the product of malfunctioning equipment. Track 2 entitled “Dust” is another minimal piece showcasing the sounds of wind. It was a little quiet and I had some problems distinguishing between the rustling air on the recording and the sound of the air conditioner in my car. There are some cracks and pops, emanting from the recorder that make their presence known. It’s actually quite welcome to break up some of the monotony of the track and further showcase the mangled sounds of his recorder.
 

Perhaps my favorite track on the album is “Bruise and Bite.” The track starts out with some churning repetitive sounds. It’s hard to place the source, sounding like something resembling broken radio static mixed with the churning gears of some dilapidated machine. A couple minutes in we are greeted with voices and singing in the background. This segueways into a very haunting musical piece that makes up the majority of this fourteen minute track. A wind instrument bellows a rhythmic pattern with some occasional outdoor voices and sounds that are layered over the track. There is something very disturbing about the piece that evokes a haunting presence. This may have been the farthest thing from the artist’s intent when constructing the piece, but all art is subjective, and it had that particular affect on my psyche. Some psychedelic guitars enters into the fray towards the end.
 

“The Sun Clings to the Earth and There is No Darkness,” evokes an entirely different mood. It starts out with what sounds like a marching band. Rhythmic drum beating with a bugler in sync. Perhaps this was taken at a parade. Overall it has a very jovial quality. The band fades out and we’re greeted to various nature sounds. Birds chirping being the most identifiable of the recordings.
 

The final track is nearly an all instrumental piece. It’s all very earthy and indigenous sounding. A wind instrument again being the prominent sound. It’s likely a flute, though it displayed some deeper bellows which sound closer to the previous instrument. The piece ends with the sounds of waves gently crashing on the beach. It’s very calm and meditative. A perfect bookend to this album and a fine accompaniment to contemplative musings or drifting to slumber.
 

Overall, this is a satisfying album. The pieces are layered well and serve as great companion pieces to our own daydreams and recollections. Being part of a series, I’m curious enough to check out volume 1 and 2.