Keiji Haino — Reveal’d To None As Yet...

‘Colourful’ would be the wrong term to describe the career of Japanese psychedelic bard Keiji Haino. Everything the man does, as diverse as it is, comes from very dark spaces. These two liverecordings on this double CD, its full title being Reveal’d to none as yet - an expedience to utterly vanish conscienceness while still alive, are no exception.

On disc one we find an electronic piece called A temporary freezing of the time axis that turns as the end of this profound now. An excursion of more than an hour into into a pool of earpiercing high pitched ghostly whistling sounds, ritualistic drums and whirring, fluttering noises. Occasionally Haino would burst out his dark mantra’s to thicken the uncomfortable atmosphere even more. The piece gives no room to sit back and is very intense.

On the second disc Haino picks up the hurdy gurdy for That, which while enfolding this now and present perfume, speaks. “I will use to the fullest this form bestowed upon me” and blurs into the firmament - ah, where and in what form will it next be devised. The piece is a little less relentless than the first disc because overall it's more subtle. The tortured moans coming from both the hurdy gurdy as well as Keiji’s vocal chords are less dense and have a more mysterious character. Partly accomplished through a more stately pace than disc one.

The catalog of Keiji Haino is huge and I don’t think many people would even attempt getting everything. Certainly not me, so I can’t really recommend this over any other release. It may not be essential, or maybe it is, how would I know? I do know that I like this album a lot, although it’s not music you put on for relaxation. But if you allow yourself to be cast into a furnace of fire for some wailing and gnashing of teeth, this is an excellent choice. And it comes in a neat and affordable package (although limited to a pressing of a 1,000 copies, which are running out quickly).