Toshiji Mikawa — Gyo-Kai Elegy

The simple but elegant artwork is little preparation for the hell that breaks loose on Gyo-Kai Elegy. The knowledge that Mikawa is the founder of brutal noiselegends Incapacitants all the more.

That said, we're talking about only half of that duo, which is audible too, on this first CD-release under his own name. The seething electronic mayhem is a little more transparent and most of the time not as dense as the work I heard from the duo. Playing their album As Loud As Possible it even seems clear which part comes from Mikawa which is isolated on the first track of Gyo-Kai Elegy. Intense hailstorms of squeaky electrons underneath which a dark ambience simmers. Sometimes, like in Drinking Gallons of Soy Sauce with Beer the 'pace' goes down slightly for something slower and creepier. Towards the end of the album more punishing shrillness enters the arena.

Even though it's pretty much 55 minutes of pummeling noise, Toshiji Mikawa does show a little more mercy than in a duo assault, allowing a little more air into his violent soundscapes. The thing that remains the same is the quality of it, which is just as high.