The Ebony Tower — Dance, Dance, Dance

Here’s a four CDR set from The Ebony Tower, taking the novel Dance, Dance, Dance by Haruki Murakami as its theme. At this point, your reviewer will confess that they’ve never read a word of Murakami in their life, so… The front cover has a human figure with a ram’s skull, sat reading, and drinking a cup of presumably tea or coffee. This has no meaning to me, but no doubt readers of Dance, Dance, Dance will nod knowingly. The set has four discs, each with one long track, ranging from a short 38:39 minutes, to a much longer 1:12:06 minutes. All are fine works of wall noise.

The first piece, The Dolphin Hotel, is quite active - or at least it moves through several developments. So it begins with a nice, tight bass rumble, and slow, fizzing treble crackle, before the bass rises up and becomes more distorted; this then opens out into an enthralling mid-frequency crunch, dirty and crumbly. From this, a more savage attack of treble emerges, and dominates until the end of the track. However, the element that really makes it a great work for me, is the odd, staccato, treble crackle that jumps in and out of (I think) the entire track. It certainly sounds to me like it’s there, in changing guises, for the duration. At the beginning, it’s processed through some reverb, and it really has a wonderful effect - somewhat reminiscent of an obtuse electronica hi-hat. Yuki, Despondent, the second track/disc, is a much more traditional affair. It’s a fast-moving, scorched earth skree that remains essentially static for its 45:23 minutes. Built on a tempestuous bass surge, the rest of the wall is filled out by speeding crackle, and fizzing, near-wash treble. The third piece, The Mystery Of Kiki, changes tack (slightly) again. Here, whilst the pacing is similar to Yuki, Despondent, the bass is more foregrounded, and also more ‘dry’; while high-mid frequency crackles scuttle over the top. It’s less scathing but heavier, and mesmerisingly ‘hollow’. As if working like a palindrome, the last work of Dance, Dance, Dance is another with several shifts. Safe Escape, All Joy begins with a saturated bass drone, and distant washy treble, until - after the halfway mark of its 38:39 minute duration - this wash starts to rise up. It’s joined by exquisite, sparse, popping crackle. In the wall’s end section, the wash becomes fierce, like a waterfall; this then climaxes in a passage of strained, hard scourging, before the wall dissipates away, like ebbing waves.

This is a great, consummate release. The first and last discs have excellent, challenging walls that twist and build, whilst the middle two discs are more straight-ahead, rampaging pieces. All four tracks show depth and attention to detail. I might be over-thinking things, but I like the fact that The Dolphin Hotel and Safe Escape, All Joy echo each other - and indeed, I’m drawn to comparing the staccato treble crackle of the former, with the sparse popping of the latter. Regardless, this is a truly excellent, and very recommended collection by The Ebony Tower, and as a nod of approval, I’m going to read a Murakami book - most likely Dance, Dance, Dance.