Thanks Duke, that sounds pretty definitive to me. Sorry to have got you to restate your case, but it's quite frustrating to have no Japanese myself and so be completely in the dark on this stuff without major help.
― krakow, Thursday, 11 June 2009 07:19 (3 years ago) Permalink
non-unhuman
?
― what u arrestin me for, innit (╓abies), Thursday, 11 June 2009 07:37 (3 years ago) Permalink
non-unhuman?― what u arrestin me for, innit (╓abies), Thursday, 11 June 2009 09:37 (10 hours ago)
I would assume the two negatives enhance rather than contradict each other here.
I finally found the Alan Cummings note on the name Fushitsusha (and if anyone knows what it means, he does!)
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."The above is from Cummings' notes at the bottom of this interview with Haino: http://www.halana.com/haino.html
Here are two quotations from Haino which illuminate what he's getting at with the name:
I was really surprised once when someone told me that the word "Fushitsusha" appears in a Buddhist sutra. On one level, if you are able to explain what "Fushitsusha" means then that means that you can also define what Buddhism means. I heard that from an actual priest, someone who has read a lot of obscure texts. That's the sense in which I use "Fushitsusha." We talked about this before – how in Buddhism nothing is the same as everything, so nothingness is not something that you should aim for
I am not an anarchist, I am Anarchy... When Buddha meditated he achieved satori [spiritual awakening, or enlightenment], and the body disappeared, that would be the end. But what physically remains after satori is what was written up by the Buddha's pupils, not the satori itself. Buddha said he's got something that he cannot understand or express in words. My job, my anarchy, which is political only insofar as not being interested in politics at all is political, what I am trying to do is to express in music the satori that the Buddha achieved but couldn't explain
― Duke, Thursday, 11 June 2009 18:31 (3 years ago) Permalink
In the interview linked above (http://www.halana.com/haino.html), Cummings writes that he and Haino spoke over iced tea and cake. Which reminds me that Haino has a very sweet tooth (especially cake, it seems). So much so that he had to cancel an appearance about 3 years ago because he'd eaten too much cake and felt unwell. So much for the Lord of Darkness etc!
― Duke, Thursday, 11 June 2009 22:06 (3 years ago) Permalink
Amazing.
Thanks for your help again, and for a massive genuine laugh.
― krakow, Thursday, 11 June 2009 22:12 (3 years ago) Permalink
Anyone picked up the new Fushitsusha, "Hikari to Nazukeyo"? I'm trying to see if I can buy it locally before ordering online. Volcanic Tongue has it for a reasonable price (with typically OTT write-up by Keenan):
FushitsushaHikari to NazukeyoHeartfast HFCD-013CD£18.99Possibly the most anticipated release of 2012, the return of the greatest rock band on the planet, Keiji Haino’s Fushitsusha: Hikari to Nazukeyo sees Haino on guitar and vocals joined by original Fushitsusha/Kousokuya drummer Ikuro Takahashi and bassist Mitsuru Nasuno (who he also plays with in Seijaku).The rhythm section of Takahashi and Nasuno is as formally boggling as you might have hoped, with the pair playing in the kind of staggered signatures and over-lapping time/space visions of the Seijaku discs, but whereas the focus of those recordings was on birthing a form of future blues that took off from Steppenwolf, Albert King and The Doors here it feels very much as if the trio are attempting to reformulate original rock & roll moves, with a feel that’s somewhere between Scotty Moore, Eddie Cochran and John Lee Hooker, albeit wrestling with the kind of rhythmic equations that are most assuredly post-improvisation and deeply Japanese. Indeed, the album has two distinct sides, there are the ultra-thrifty insistent monochord carve-ups of classic trio rock/roll moves and there are the heady F/X saturated blow-outs, with Haino’s guitar exploding the kind of post-Hendrix vectors of Double Live while he sings in an otherworldly castrato, birthing a form of violent sacred music. At this point in time I think it’s safe to say that no one else has so successfully and rigorously disinterred and interrogated the basic tenets of rock music as Fushitsusha and to think that at 60 years old Haino is still making the most radical and searching rock music of anyone’s career is a tribute to his commitment to the specifics of vision and his belief in the potential of the form. From where I’m sitting it feels like the whole history of rock music has led up to this. Highest possible recommendation!
Possibly the most anticipated release of 2012, the return of the greatest rock band on the planet, Keiji Haino’s Fushitsusha: Hikari to Nazukeyo sees Haino on guitar and vocals joined by original Fushitsusha/Kousokuya drummer Ikuro Takahashi and bassist Mitsuru Nasuno (who he also plays with in Seijaku).The rhythm section of Takahashi and Nasuno is as formally boggling as you might have hoped, with the pair playing in the kind of staggered signatures and over-lapping time/space visions of the Seijaku discs, but whereas the focus of those recordings was on birthing a form of future blues that took off from Steppenwolf, Albert King and The Doors here it feels very much as if the trio are attempting to reformulate original rock & roll moves, with a feel that’s somewhere between Scotty Moore, Eddie Cochran and John Lee Hooker, albeit wrestling with the kind of rhythmic equations that are most assuredly post-improvisation and deeply Japanese. Indeed, the album has two distinct sides, there are the ultra-thrifty insistent monochord carve-ups of classic trio rock/roll moves and there are the heady F/X saturated blow-outs, with Haino’s guitar exploding the kind of post-Hendrix vectors of Double Live while he sings in an otherworldly castrato, birthing a form of violent sacred music. At this point in time I think it’s safe to say that no one else has so successfully and rigorously disinterred and interrogated the basic tenets of rock music as Fushitsusha and to think that at 60 years old Haino is still making the most radical and searching rock music of anyone’s career is a tribute to his commitment to the specifics of vision and his belief in the potential of the form. From where I’m sitting it feels like the whole history of rock music has led up to this. Highest possible recommendation!
― Duke, Friday, 18 May 2012 13:28 (1 year ago) Permalink
as if the trio are attempting to reformulate original rock & roll moves, with a feel that’s somewhere between Scotty Moore, Eddie Cochran and John Lee Hooker
I predict I will not hear what they're talking about and this will sound exactly like Fushitsusha to me.
― booth traums (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Saturday, 19 May 2012 03:52 (1 year ago) Permalink
Well done Dave for that write-up. Not buying it tho' but hopefully I can see them if they come to London.
― xyzzzz__, Saturday, 19 May 2012 09:25 (1 year ago) Permalink
I can really recommend Haino's new-ish trio, Seijaku. Haino describes them as "21st century blues". Two albums so far: http://www.doubtmusic.com/mart/dmf-136-7_e.html
― Duke, Sunday, 20 May 2012 20:36 (1 year ago) Permalink
Yeah, I wrote about Seijaku (and Haino generally) for Burning Ambulance a while back. Killer stuff. So's Aihiyo. Got a copy of this new Fushitsusha but haven't played it yet.
― 誤訳侮辱, Sunday, 20 May 2012 21:03 (1 year ago) Permalink
See you all at TUSK!
― only NWOFHM! is real (krakow), Tuesday, 22 May 2012 22:53 (1 year ago) Permalink
Hikari to Nazukeyo
Lots, well, no fuck it, lots of hooks/riffs to hang on to. Fleeting moments of total transcendent vibery. Tightest wonk ever. Nasuno killing it throughout. A bunch of groovers to start off with then they go off on one. Only heard it via the Spotify thread yesterday but have already ordered a copy and keep coming back for more. Guess I really should go see em on Friday now!
― Crackle Box, Wednesday, 3 October 2012 14:01 (7 months ago) Permalink
yeah I thought it was p cool; first time I actually felt like I 'got' it...
― remtrollison (Drugs A. Money), Wednesday, 3 October 2012 16:14 (7 months ago) Permalink
Hikari is definitely more of a rock & roll proposition than usual... so short by Fushitsusha standards it feels like an EP. The new one Mabushii itazura na inori is a little longer, more 'jazzy' in a way, almost like a dryer, slightly more abrasive take on the Allegorical Misunderstanding type of sound. Nazoranai and particularly the last Haino/Ambarchi/O'Rourke collab (which is amazing) are closer to the old Fushitsusha to my ears.
And yeah, go see them live without hesitation. I've only seen the Haino/Ozawa/Takahashi lineup (at FIMAV in 1997, the show that was released as 'Withdrawe etc etc') but Haino in just about any form is always worth getting out of the house for.
― alb indys, Wednesday, 3 October 2012 17:24 (7 months ago) Permalink
cheaper tickets for friday btw http://www.wegottickets.com/sct/u3H5VZqmVm
― Crackle Box, Wednesday, 3 October 2012 17:43 (7 months ago) Permalink
I can't make London, but will be at TUSK. Anyone else?
― NWOFHM! Overlord (krakow), Wednesday, 3 October 2012 22:34 (7 months ago) Permalink
ach, i bought my less cheap ticket already! they'd better be worth that extra £4 and the three minute walk it takes me to get to the venue.
― Perfect Chicken Forever (Merdeyeux), Thursday, 4 October 2012 00:44 (7 months ago) Permalink
How was it last night?!
TUSK seems a great little festival. Fushitsusha should be amazing in the intimacy of such a venue.
― NWOFHM! Overlord (krakow), Saturday, 6 October 2012 08:42 (7 months ago) Permalink
as i keep repeating to everyone who'll listen, afterwards it felt like i'd been in a fight. it was a pretty remarkable venue for them, the whole room felt oppressively thick with sound, really brutal and really incredible. john butcher's set was beautiful too, let's have everything in big old churches from now on.
― Perfect Chicken Forever (Merdeyeux), Saturday, 6 October 2012 13:53 (7 months ago) Permalink
Excellent!
Star & Shadow seems relatively small, hot and dark (in generally good ways, for gig experiences) as is, let alone when Fushitsusha unleash themselves... I cannot wait!
― NWOFHM! Overlord (krakow), Saturday, 6 October 2012 15:01 (7 months ago) Permalink
ok yeah Hikari to Nazukeyo is fantastic. Second, more thorough listening is yielding many rewards
― IMP of the perverse (Drugs A. Money), Saturday, 27 October 2012 21:18 (6 months ago) Permalink