Aube — Substructural Penetration(Digital Reissue)

Iris Light presents Substructural Penetration, a digital reissue (originally released as a 2xCD in 1997) from legendary Japanese noise artist Aube. This particular collection contains rare and out-of-print recordings spanning the years 1991-1995. Aube, the moniker of Nakajima Akifumi, sadly passed away last year, but not without leaving behind a sizeable discography. Unique to the Aube experience was his insistence on sticking to a single sound source per recording. The tracks that make up this collection are culled from the early part of Aube’s career, which is much more abrasive than some his later recordings. Truth be told, of all the Japanese masters of noise, Aube is the artist I’m least familiar with. In particular, I’m a little more familiar with his later works, so it is with much interest that I delve into these earlier recordings.

Substructural Penetration spans 20 tracks utilizing a variety of sound sources including: water, lungs, florescent glow lamps, oscillators, steel wool, and a magnetic spectroscope. As my first brush with Aube’s early material, I was half expecting to hear some off the wall harsh noise attack along the lines of Masonna or Merzbow, but to my surprise, these tracks were rather restrained and focused. While there are certainly harsher flourishes to be found throughout this collection, there is as much (if not more) ambient and repetitious tones that run through these tracks. The entire double disc runs a little under 2 ½ hours, with tracks ranging in length from the slim “Crossing Line” (1:33) to the epic “Undercurrent I/II” (22:16). A collection spanning a half decade of an artist’s career is bound to uncover some treasure and, to my delight, there are plenty of gems to be found.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the entire release there were certainly some tracks that really resonated with me. “Undercurrent I/II” is a great piece showcasing Aube’s yin-yang approach to noise making. The track slowly builds an aquatic submerged sound with a repetitious ping (reminiscent to a submarine sonar), until being destabilized by a cacophonous harsh noise assault. The appropriately titled “Luminous 1 Minute” utilizes a fluorescent lamp as a sound source, yet sounds like the inner-workings of a wind-up toy and windchimes processed in a minute’s time. “Breath Hard” uses a repetitive breathing pattern which develops into a harsh noise loop.

There’s actually a pattern with many of these tracks. Most start with a slowly building loop (or near loop) of the soundsource Aube is using that builds into harsher repetitive swashes of chaos. It’s formulaic at times, but focused in the approach Akifumi takes. For those looking for harsh noise fare, “Ring Insensitive” offers bending, high-end electronics and rolling static wash that, at times, sounds more like a really fucked up guitar than straight up electronics. The final two tracks are unreleased live works, appropriately titled “Ionosphere Live II” and “Ionosphere v,” which appear to be sprawling oscillator noise jams that have a highly improvised feel.

In conclusion, this is a great collection of material showcasing a Japanoise master in his early days. From quiet ambient passages to full on harsh noise, there should be something appealing to be found for all experimental noise enthusiasts.