Fushitsusha: Classic or dud

Nathalie- You have been burned! And I am sure you'll return to this record again, just like the rest of us fushitsusha fans.

Stevo- You must start with double live. What's so remarkable is that some of the 'song' structures are so loose and yet the playing is so focused. Haino's vocals are incredible and fit perfectly.

I undestand if you don't start with it because (here in the UK) it costs £30 pounds (a 2 CD set). I started with the dbl studio album 'I saw it! That of which I could only sense'. That 2 CD set was at noemal prices since it was released by the Uk's paratactile label. A stunning document. I don't agree with Janne that their studio albums sound compressed as 'I saw it ...' led me on to many other albums.

What Fushitsusha have done is deepen psychedelic music and they are essential.

Is anyone going to Le weekend to catch 'em live? I can't go unfortunately...

Still they are great great geat get ge g. By the way A Caution Appears is really good and a lot cheaper than Double Live. Affection is ace if you just want solo Haino beating on his guitar and wailing.

Affection is another incredible release. And if you wnat sonic assault try the last track on his brilliant solo alb 'Watashi Dake'. Just wave upon wave of feedaback sculpted into truly frightening noise, recorded in 1981.

One of the problems with all albums being black and in Japanese is that it is hard to tell them apart.

Lost Araaf= The first (documented) group he led (he got his break by playing harmonica in a doors cover group). I think he played piano in Araaf. There's a CD on PSF but i haven't got it (but will get it).

There's also an early document of a solo performance 'Aima no Gawa'. That's vocals and live electronics (from mid- 70s). Never seen that one.

What's so impressive abt that last track on Watashi Dake (it is an extra track of three available) is that it was recorded in 1981. His guitar playing was already together by that stage, many years before PSF (which came into existence in '85) started putting his stuff out (by the way, for those who haven't got this alb, the actual 10 tracks that make this up are not very loud but there's a lot more to his guitar playing than that- check it out!).

Nathalie- Does your mum listen to any Japanese psychedelic pop?

Anyway, report back and tells us what she thinks?

At least she is willing to listeen. I was listening ti 'I saw it!' a couple of months ago. My dad had just come back from work to say 'hi!' Then he asked me what was that noise outside? I told it's the record I'm playing. Once I said that he shut the door very quickly!

So, all of the above it is.

A very simple translation of Fushitsusha is something along the lines of "breathing life into nonliving things"(eg stereo systems) but Haino said you would have to read a really big book to even begin to understand the meaning of it. If someone has the interview i'm talking about they could give a more accurate quote, but reading Haino interviews can be a pretty fruitless pastime.

Lost Araaf have put out at least two CDs but they're not worth the bother you would have to go to to hear them. Haino seems to be attempting to imitate a saxophone with his vocal chords on much of them.

Haino Keiji (or is it Keiji Haino--eh who cares)

Haino Keiji is his Japanese name and Keiji Haino is the westernised version (ie Haino is his family name).

I love the first one as well though but the second is extra special in my book.

''A very simple translation of Fushitsusha is something along the lines of "breathing life into nonliving things"(eg stereo systems) but Haino said you would have to read a really big book to even begin to understand the meaning of it.''

Thanks! I've only read two interviews: One in Halana mag (see link elsewhere in thread) and the other in the wire. His intentions are pretty clear from the latter. He wants to broaden psychedelic music. Read the wire interview.

Oh, yeah, another in perfect sound forever web zine.

Allegorical gets a lot of flak in reviews. I never heard it myself. What do you like abt that one?

[though i don't know what BTW means]

Vajra's him too, isn't it? That's a great record, very short and pretty.

Vajra (or Vasara) is Haino Keiji, Toshiaki Ishizuka (sometime Fushitsusha drummer) and Kan Mikami (absolutely amazing folk singer but probably more famous as an actor). They've put out a few albums but i prefer their solo albums. Which album are you referring to?

double live (psf 15/16) is one of the most important records of the last decade, but we've covered that already.

I didn't know this so my apologies. From the wire interview (as I recall) Biba Kopf said that Haino formed Fushitsusha in '78/79.

This is a good thread for me. I got some extra information on my favourite bands ever.

Dang, I wish I was going to be in Central Scotland next week. The line-up for this looks great. If you have the chance to go, then you definitely should, because Fushitsusha and Haino are revelatory in a live setting. There is a special energy in their performances which can't be captured on record - maybe it has something do with Haino's stage theatrics and man-in-black mysteriousness, or the sheer volume. They put on the loudest show that I've ever seen at Tonic here in NYC. Not to mention that Shizuka's also on the line-up. It would be awesome to see them play.

downloaded 'origin's hesitation' and just played it and its haino on percussion/vocals and osawa on bass. NO GUITAR! How many 'psych rock' bands do that?

I have to say that I like it but that's just bcz of the fact that there isn't any guitar. His I'm shitting blood-type really make me laugh too (but he does come down a bit in the last, and the longest by far, tracks). Having said that, its ther first alb from them that i've heard that would put off ppl if they were hearing them for the first time but it completely makes sense in terms of what they do, which is a v diff version of what we know as rock music.

With fushitsusha as a trio the bass could sometimes be buried in but here there are no probs and Osawa's licks (especially from the fourth track onwards) are very tasty and perfectly complement haino's percussion.

They cover quite a bit of material. The first track is a bit of a five minute thrash around, the next two completely confused and amused me as haino would do stop start percussion and then the vocal and osawa eventaully coming in...there was quite a bit of playing around with silence throughout but especially in the last two tracks.

and in some ways this is their best studio alb, or should I say that I never really thought of them as a studio band since the live recs on PSF are that much superior (though I saw it!... is pretty fine) and so in some ways, this departure (which was sort of forced on them as takahashi left the band) makes them a band capable of cutting really good records in the studio.

After careful consideration, I think Fushitsusha's top 5 may be:

Live 2
I Saw It!...
Pathetique
Live 1
THe Caution Appears

Not crazy about Allegorical Misunderstanding or Withdrawe This Sable Disclosure ere Devot'd.

And let me just say: C L A S S I C

This is nonsense. Fu-Shitsu-Sha (for it is made up of three Japanese characters (kanji) means something along the lines of "un-person". Alan Cummings has translated it as "man with no qualities". The "fu" and "shitsu" parts mean "un-", "non", the "sha" means "person".

In February 2008, longtime bassist Yasushi Ozawa passed away.

rip

Fuuuuuuuuuck dude

very sad. saw him with fushitsusha in 1996, absolutely towering.

And young as well :-(

rip

Yeah, he was an amazing foil for Haino, his other band Marginal Consort are pretty great too.

much respect to the dude, he was a heavy player in every sense.

rip

Echoing what I said on the noise.as forums, it's very sad that there's now no chance of any further recordings or live shows from the arguably 'classic' Fushitsusha line-up. While I admit I wouldn't have known his name before hearing of his death, from browsing the discography he was fundamental in the vast majority of the Fushitsusha recordings that I know and love, not least the Double Live sets.

R.I.P.

:(
I saw Keiji Haino solo at the Walker in mpls last year, the only US show he was able to play, and it was absolutely paralyzing. Four Twin Reverbs just cranking out layers of bizarre vocal loops and gutting shards of what I can only assume was his guitar.

I have always wanted to see Fishitsusha. Too, too bad.

All I have is Withdrawe, and this dvd I picked up at that show. Can't seem to find these acclaimed live albums, any idea where I should look?

Not for under $50 anyway, and I found zero torrents. Would anyone be willing to burn me double live or something? I want to legitimately buy this, but...don't know how.

Incredible from start to finish, much more coherent and forceful than most of the other Haino/Brotzmann material floating around out there... and so much that you don't find on other Fushitsusha recordings of the time - that slow building drums/bells intro on disc one (shades of no.5 from Tenshi no Gijinka there, only nerve-wracking instead of peaceful), scary ritual chanting on disc two...

And yeah, pretty package too.

loving this, but still on disc 1.

coulda sworn i preordered this but no dice. now to pay some discogs swindler god knows ugh, can't wait to hear it.

saw an exhibition of brotzmanns artwork in ljubljana last summer, it wa approx what one would expect, except in a very sunny old mansion in the middle of a park

Haino thought that he had coined the term himself. From the literal meaning of the characters used to write it, Fushitsusha means "a person without qualities." As far as I understand it (which probably isn't very far), in Buddhism the term refers to a process that occurs during deep meditation–after losing all sense of self, if you continue to meditate to a very deep level you will eventually rediscover yourself, but a self devoid of all qualities and spiritually pure. Nijiumu is also supposedly a Buddhist term–the literal meaning of the characters is "the merging of that which is and that which is not."

Awesome. Its a dynamic within MwQ. The novel aims at an almost scientific precision, but there is an awareness that to achieve that within thinking and writing you can achieve a result which is falls in the spiritual realm. Equally, that deep looking within itself that is a feature of a modernistic monologue can be cast differently. And "anarchy" -- its surrounding and the manner of behaviour of some of its characters -- is another state of mind within Musil.

Perhaps this is better placed in a PSF thread, but Fushitsusha fans may be pleased to hear that their catalogue is to be reissued, including it seems on vinyl.

www.theblackeditions.com

It is with great excitement that we announce the formation of the Black Editions label and the return of Japan’s revered P.S.F. Records catalog. Starting in 2016 Black Editions will begin to issue P.S.F.’s lost classics in high quality, definitive editions; Most of these albums will be released on vinyl for the first time ever.

Renowned artist such Keiji Haino, Fushitsusha, High Rise, White Heaven, Kaoru Abe, Kan Mikami, Acid Mothers Temple, Musica Transonic, Masayoshi Urabe, Moto Yoshizawa, Che-Shizu, Michio Kadotani and many more all had seminal works that were first issued by P.S.F. Over the past 30 years, these artists have created one of the world’s most vital and original bodies of music.

Though often shrouded in mystery and sometimes pressed in limited editions that barely made it out of Japan, the albums of the P.S.F. catalog have nonetheless achieved a legendary status. Ranging from psychedelic rock, folk and punk to jazz, free improvisation and the avant-garde, the P.S.F. catalog has been defiantly eclectic and uncompromising.

As the label founder Hideo Ikeezumi told us- “I only wanted to release music on PSF that refused to limit itself to genres, that had zero commercialism, that possessed “kokoro” (heart), and that had a feeling of freedom. In that sense, I was heavily influenced by Masayuki Takayanagi. I was very much affected by something he said when I was 19 – that an artist should put their life on the line in order to express themselves.”

It is the mission of Black Editions to continue that legacy. Working in full cooperation with P.S.F., its artists and its founder Hideo Ikeezumi, all material will be re-mastered from the highest quality sources. This will be the first time many of these albums will be available outside of Japan.

Coming in 2016 will be definitive editions of Fushitsusha’s 2nd Live, the original version of High Rise II, the Tokyo Flashback compilation, Che Shizu’s A Journey and through special arrangement with the artist- Keiji Haino’s classic 1981 debut Watashi Dake?.

About Black Editions:
Based in Los Angeles, Black Editions has been founded by Peter Kolovos who is joined by Steve Lowenthal as the new label’s Director of Operations.

Black Editions acquired the rights to the P.S.F. catalog in 2014.

The full list of titles in the Black Edition catalog can be found by clicking here.

Their *PSF* catalogue, I should have written.

Really excited about this, as I sold my Fushitsusha CDs years ago and really want to get new copies. I am a little concerned that this part ("Starting in 2016 Black Editions will begin to issue P.S.F.’s lost classics in high quality, definitive editions; Most of these albums will be released on vinyl for the first time ever.") might be implying that the reissues would be vinyl-only. But if they do reproduce the awesome CD packaging of Live II I will be very, very happy.

Fair point: that could imply vinyl only. I own all the CDs myself but might be tempted to reinvest if the packaging or re-mastering warrants it.

I wish the Tokuma albums would be reissued. Those were out of my price range when they were released, and now, forget it.

THis is both vinyl and cd versions of all the PSF titles is it?
Any idea over what tiime period the releases are coming and what kind of prices?
I'm assumming that it will be a lot cheaper tahn buying the PSF versions were even at the time they were in print?

I'd just been thinking i needed the first couple of Fushitsusha live cds so very glad to hear this.

Kinda worried that this is vinyl only

I've emailed the label to find out. Will report back.

top man

thanking u

To what extent can remastering improve the sound of Live II? I suppose its murkiness is part of its legend but I'd be tempted by a clearer sound.

Live II is PSF 15/16, correct? Easily my favorite Fushitsusha.

Really curious to see which Kaoru Abe material gets reissued...I'm not really up on what of his was on PSF and what was on other labels.

OK, here is the (disappointing) word:

We only have plans for Lps at the moment. But if demand becomes apparent...

Yes Live II is 15/16

Oh. That is disappointing

boooo

Thanks, Duke! xxp

And uuuugghhh fuck vinyl-only.

man that's a drag (yet somehow i'm sure i will end up buying all of these anyway because i am a chump)

I think an email-writing campaign is in order - info @ theblackeditions dot com.

Haha! xpost

I'm willing to write.

The Barre Phillips/Keiji Haino duo set is indescribably essential. But it's such a spacious, quiet recording, that vinyl will pretty much ruin the experience.

I think an email-writing campaign is in order - info @ theblackeditions dot com.

― the top man in the language department (誤訳侮辱), Friday, March 11, 2016 6:59 PM (39 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I was wondering what kind of demand they needed.

I'm also thinking that I thought a lot of the Fushitsusha tracks at least would be difficult to fit onto vinyl, I thought they'd be 2 or possibly 3 vinyl sides long.

But I have noticeed that a few reissue labels that started off doing cds too seem to have gone vinyl only. Is Superior Viaduct still doing cds at all?

Yeah Live II is about 150 minutes long or something

no long tracks on II though, it would fit on a 3LP just fine (not that I will buy it)

Yeah Live II could work. But Fushitsusha generally more suited to CD.

I didn't manage to pick up that recent Fushitsusha / Brötzmann collaboration. Regretting it now.

Holy fucking shit; a full one-hour performance from 1987, now on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fM6eO7wPPEA

amazing

:o

i found myself wanting to shout some variation of "YES! HELL YES!" periodically through this video

Funny I was watching a bunch of that the live '91 video earlier this week.

Would be great it Temporal Drift took these guys on after they finished up with Les Rallizes Denudes stuff. Impossible to find this stuff, even the older mp3 blogs offer either dead links or corrupt files. Really would love to find the 1989 and 1991 live albums.

There's flac rips of both of those on t0rrent sites, just saying.

Yeah, assumed that was probably the case, I don't really torrent though.

I mostly want the Tokuma albums (A Death Never To Be Complete, The Time Is Nigh, A Little Longer Thus and The Wisdom Prepared) to come back into print — they're ridiculously expensive secondhand. The "other two" double live CDs — Purple Trap and I Saw It! That Which Before I Could Only Sense — would be nice to have around, too.

Oh yeah, I'd take it all tbh. The Temporal Drift model would be nice - a new reissue every few months to get the catalog back in print.

Wasn't there a label doing PSF reissues on vinyl only? Certainly the Fushitsusha recs are best heard on CD because of their length, and yes, a complete Tokuma reissue set wld be nice.

Yeah, Black Editions was doing some of the PSF catalog vinyl reissues.

Fushitsusha Double Live (1991) is supposed to be getting a 5 LP (!) reissue on Black Editions

God I don't want to see the price on that, be nice if they could do a CD as well.

I paid $65 for a CD copy of Live II last year. I do not regret this.

I probably would jump for that price, I haven't seen a copy for under three figures.

I remember even back in the '90s those Fusitsusha CDs were pricey. I think like $30 for a typical import single CD was common.

Back in about 1990 I sold a copy of Iron Maiden's "Soundhouse Tapes" 7" for $70 to some guy in the US, it's now worth about 20 times that. Anyway I recycled the cash by sending it to PSF in Japan for Fushitsusha "Live 2" plus I think CDs by Ghost, High Rise and maybe a Tokyo Flashback comp. Money well spent, even though I could have bought half the PSF catalogue with it if I'd waited a decade or two before selling. But who can wait for Fushitsusha?

Every time I see one pop up on Discogs for a reasonable amount, it's always like someone asking like $40 for shipping.