Nov 17, 2007
While My Guitar Violently Bleeds pt.1: Electric
Official band photo Suishou No Fune
Sir Richard Bishop not only delivered one of this year’s greatest albums, but also without doubt the best album title. As a title While My Guitar Violently Bleeds is profoundly ambiguous in a sense that it does not merely refer to a full-blown, aggressive guitar bashing sound, but all the more – and definitely so in Sir Richard Bishop’s case – to a profound passion that pores from every note played in an almost spiritual way. The title alone is good enough to dedicate two mixes to it, the second of which will actually feature music from Sir Richard Bishop and likeminded acoustic guitar gods. This first mix however explores its mirror image and will focus solely on the electric guitar.
Les Rallizes Dénudés fits both interpretations of this post’s title. Their sound is relentlessly vicious with Takashi Mizutani’s wailing guitar playing, masked by a thick haze of intense feedback and crippling distortion. But it’s also filled with a powerful passion. It has an urge or a certain importance that goes beyond the music itself. Another Japanese band, Suishou No Fune, is clearly influenced by their approach and delivered one of my favourite albums this year with The Shining Star. A psychedelic masterpiece with fuzzy guitar work and intense vocals drenched in reverb.
I’ve tried to bring some variation to the mix by adding various styles and moods, ranging from the highly energetic Scorch Trio, Boris and Marc Ribot to the blissful drones of Geoff Mullen. And with Les Rallizes Dénudés, Suishou No Fune and Yakouchu sitting perfectly in between. In short, here are nine songs to display my electric guitar fetish. Stay tuned for its acoustic counterpart next week.
- Marc Ribot – Kalmiya
Asmodeus: Book of Angels, Vol. 7 (Tzadik, 2007) - Boris – Pink
Pink (Diwphalanx, 2005) - Yakouchu – MUGEN
Tokyo Flashback 6 (PSF, 2007) - Les Rallizes Dénudés – Far Out Deeper Than the Night
’77 Live (SIXE, 1991) - Scorch Trio – Furskunjt
Luggumt (Rune Grammofon, 2004) - The Julie Mittens – June 1
April/June (Rococo, 2007) - Suishou No Fune – Your Tears Drop From the Sky
The Shining Star- Live (Important, 2007) - Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words – Ashen Like the Sky
Fall, Fall, Falling (Kalligrammofon, 2007) - Geoff Mullen – Untitled 8
The Air in Pieces (Last Visible Dog, 2006)
beautiful. can’t wait for the second installment.
more les rallizes denudes please… so hard to find :)
I saw “les rallizes nude” on the “best indie albums” list but really never heard them until now. It sort of reminded me of Can, albeit soaked in washes of electric feedback. Definitely got me interested on listening to the full album.
[...] Last week’s part one featured some excellent electric guitar playing in various styles. It was a reference to Sir Richard Bishop’s fantastically titled album While My Guitar Violently Bleeds (released on Locust Music earlier this year, make sure to get the vinyl version if you have a record player, just for the beautiful artwork alone) although it did not have anything to do with the actual record itself. This second part however explores the sound of acoustic guitar instruments and comes a lot closer to what you’ll find on that album. [...]
Unexpected sounds. Very moving, even inspirationally disturbing. Thanks for the exposure.