Masonna — Frequency L.S.D.

Originally released in the year 1998 Frequency L.S.D. stands as one of the great brain-meltingly psychedelic noise albums of all time. The fourteen-track album is a manic ride into the tripped-out harsh noise form- it blends ‘n’ blurs shredding electronics, baying vocals, sudden & searing pitch sustains, with darting dwells of moody headiness- all warped in overloaded-yet-psychedelic production. Here from respected British noise/ experimental label Cold Spring, is the first-ever vinyl release of this rightly hailed noise masterpiece.

The album first appeared in February of 1998 as a CD on Canadian Alien8Recordings, and then in 2004 the same label reissued it once again as a CD- so it’s a good few years since it's been in print. This vinyl pressing recreates the original cover artwork of the CD- it features a double-sided/mirrored picture of Masonna- aka Osaka-based noise maker Maso Yamazaki- in shades, with the album title and the words Mademoiselle Anne Sanglante Ou Notre Nymphomanie Auréolé in red and white futuristic texts. On the back we find a hunched over his set up picture of the long-haired Yamazaki set in a red & black hazed filter- with on the bottom of the back cover in small text the Yamazaki name, and his set up for this album- voice, microphone, Expj Ringmodulater, Coloursound Pedals, 60’s fuzz canister, spectral audio analog synth, Sherman filter bank, and delay. The vinyl comes presented in the form of 180 black vinyl, with this pressing ltd to 400 copies.
 
 
The album features fourteen untitled tracks- and each of these has a runtime between one and nearing eight minutes, though mostly they hit around the few minutes mark. The vinyl presents eight tracks on side A, and the remaining six on side B. And from the first track, we’re pushed straight into manic and intense rushing sonic chaos with searing ‘n’ swirling electro bays, rapidly shredding laser tones, and bayed vocals. Track four begins with spiralling 'n' shredding rush of smashing glass noise grain- moving on we get a sudden grating pitch sustain, then the rapidly baying vocals flood in- as we rapidly seesaw between glass grain rush ‘n’ splinter & bucking ‘n’ searing electro flows- all edged with the occasional wince-inducing highs. By track eight, and the end of the first side we move from a violent looped vocal bay, onto blends of cascading static rush and bucking topped with reverbed vocal trails, through sweep grain forks and bays.

Flipping over and the searing psychedelic noise is still firm and strong- as we move from chugging electro loop, meets rising sci-fi noise tones, and compressed bays of this sides second track. There’s the reverbed noise and vocal haze rush of the fourth track, which at points features some truly brain piecing pitch slices. We have the pulsing ring meets choppy electro churn of track five- which fairly soon shifts into rapid noise rushes and sweeps that are ragged with demented vocal chatters. The side and album plays out in lengthy and sinisterly sci-fi moody form, with this sides sixth track. This is largely based around greyly purr ‘n’ skidding synth tones, which are topped with ringing and bouncing flows- though we do get sudden rises in intensity with bursts of vocals bays and noise shred.

 

It's certainly great to see Frequency L.S.D. finally getting a vinyl release after all these years- and let’s hope there are plans afoot for more vinyl reissue of classic Masonna albums. Hands down this is a stone-cold psychedelic harsh noise masterpiece, which you really shouldn’t be without! Head by Cold Spring to purchase this direct.