Hana Haruna — I Can Be Your Angle Or Devil

I Can Be Your Angle Or Devil is a recent two-track album from this Portland-based wall-making project. It takes in two forty-minute walls, the first featuring an unease & low-key ritualist undercarriage, and the second a more straightforward slice of HNW- which still has a slightly eerier undercurrent.

The Hana Haruna project has been around since 2018- with to date nearing one hundred and twenty to its name. Behind the project is Ken Jamison, who also runs the internet-based noise label Basement Corner Emissions, as well as been behind a few other projects. I’ll have to admit what I’ve heard from this project in the past has been somewhat mixed in quality- but I must say I enjoyed both tracks here, and they make for a worthy eighty-minute release.

This release is a digital download on UK’s Death To Dynamics- with the cover taking in what looks like an old Japanese print of a demon peering over the edge of its side bell or large planter with two women in, and a few period-dressed men around its edge. The release can be found here. 

First up we have “Shiina Mono”- it’s built around a decidedly searing yet moody blend of constantly rushing buffeting ‘n’ bay, weird & off in the distant/ sparse like ritual percussion hacking, and this uneasy-at-points rather creepy ambient warble ‘n’ drift.  These elements come together to create a rather wonderful blend of eerier storm-bound battering & atmospheric ritual haunted-ness. The layers are blended well- so as you can define the rush 'n' bay elements well, but the moodier elements are faint/distant which of course pulls you in further to try and define it.

The other track here is “Hanai Miri” here we find a rolling ‘n’ rushing low end, which is edged with two types of fixed thinner grained buzz/drag. Underneath it all, I’m sure I can just make out an eerier post-industrial ambient churn 'n' hover, though it’s extremely unclear/ill-defined. This ‘wall’ feels a lot fuller and densely thick in its attack compared with the first track, but the subtle undercurrent./ edge is most effective. I also quite like the textural blend here, which is something fairly distinctive. 

In conclusion, we have two rewarding, at points, eerily-edged examples of the walled noise form. I also like the Japanese folklore/myth-based artwork/ theme, and the tracks tie into this nicely. I wanted to give this a three and a half out of five, but as we only do whole marks here I’ve gone for a four mark.