Small Cruel Party / Kiyoshi Mizutani - Split (Flenix, 2000)

A1 Small Cruel Party - The God Pan Like A Swarm Of Buzzing Flies Came Down (For Guy Davenport) Part 1
A2 Small Cruel Party - The God Pan Like A Swarm Of Buzzing Flies Came Down (For Guy Davenport) Part 2
B1 Kiyoshi Mizutani - Untitled
B2 Kiyoshi Mizutani - Untitled
B3 Kiyoshi Mizutani - Untitled
B4 Kiyoshi Mizutani - Untitled

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Kiyoshi Mizutani - Transcend Sideways (Artware Production, 1997)

1 Any Time The Wind Nature Is In Everywhere 19:18
2 Haraitontoh 11:10
3 Transcend Sideways 13:40
4 Spirit Of The Air 9:53

There is no mistaking this veteran noisician's seriousness on this release. Empty of any personality, expression, or humor, these four painstakingly constructed noise pieces therefore take on a spiritual quality heard only the best noise.
Artware Productions

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Aube / Small Cruel Party / Daniel Menche / Kiyoshi Mizutani - Shiroseasons (Shirocoal Recordings, 1996)

First Season - Spring
1 Aube Awakening In The Pool (16:49)
Second Season - Summer
2 Small Cruel Party Home Borders: Circling Outward Past Edge To Rest, Awaken (17:26)
Third Season - Autumn
3 Daniel Menche Hand Against Her Sand (17:30)
Fourth Season - Winter
4 Kiyoshi Mizutani Infusion (16:36)

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Kiyoshi Mizutani & Daniel Menche - Song Of Jike (Niko Recordings, 2004)

1 Song Of Jike 1: Kiyoshi Mizutani Mix (21:04)
2 Song Of Jike 2: Daniel Menche Mix (19:56)
3 Song Of Jike 3: Kiyoshi Mizutani Mix (10:29)

Les field recordings sont de Kiyoshi Mizutani, Daniel Menche y rajoutant tout un tas d'instruments (violoncelle, guitare, phonographe, etc). Bien plus apaisé que ce que fait Menche habituellement...

This is the second release by Kiyoshi Mizutani (one time collaborator of Merzbow) and Daniel Menche, following 'Garden' on Auscultare Research (see Vital Weekly 400), and like 'Garden' this is based on field recordings made in a village called Jike Yokohama. These recordings were made by Mizutani and Menche adds a cello, acoustic guitar and an antique phonograph player to the scene. Two tracks here were mixed by Mizutani and one by Menche. The first piece, by Mizutani, is a strange affair: the dry field recordings are only occassionally intercepted by a likewise cello drone and towards the end vinyl crackles sounding like crickets. Much more dense is the mix Menche did. He 'thickens' the material by layering various field recordings over each other and adding bits of sound effects. Despite the density of the recordings, Menche creates a very minimal mix too, but one that has more musical events than the first Mizutani piece. The third piece, again by Mizutani, but here with more additions of 'other' sounds, such as the rumblings of metal. Again a very peaceful piece of music. All three tracks are very subtle, even with some of Menche's more piercing sounds half way through his piece, and minimal. Probably just as peaceful as sitting in Japanese garden.
Vital Weekly

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Kiyoshi Mizutani - Waterscape (E(r)ostrate, 1997)

1 Magnetism (7:59)
2 Discharge (7:58)
3 Glass Of Water (8:03)
4 A Swing (8:01)
5 Waterfall (8:03)
6 Damp Cloth (8:02)
7 Feed Back (8:02)

Consists of each pair of materials.
1. Magnetism of motor and rubber.
2. Discharge of fluorescent light and harp.
3. Rasping chain and tuning fork.
4. Cork and glass.
5. Waterfall and steel pipe.
6. Sliding door and wet towel.
7. Drone noise and a tap water.

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Kiyoshi Mizutani - Yokosawa-iri (CMR, 2002)

1 Woods In The Wind (8:11)
2 Japanese White Eye (4:02)
3 Dropping Male Flower (6:42)
4 Money Offering Box At A Shrine, Electric Saw (3:19)
5 Field (Rice Terrace) In Rain (4:29)
6 Small Pond (4:50)
7 Temple's Gong, Japanese Green Pigeon (4:12)
8 Field (Rice Terrace) In Rain (3:41)
9 Schlegel's Green Tree Frog (4:29)
10 Siberian Meadow Bunting (3:15)
11 Fall Of Rocks, Streams (9:00)
12 Knock Of Rocks (6:20)

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Kiyoshi Mizutani - Scenery Of The Border: Environment And Folklore Of The Tanzawa Mountains (and/OAR, 2006)

1-1 Kurokura Power Plant (3:04)
1-2 In The Tunnel At Kurokura Path (5:55)
1-3 The Chain At Mt. Ohishi (5:08)
1-4 Hail At Mt. Tanzawa (3:25)
1-5 Wind At Dohdaira (5:04)
1-6 Birds At Dohkaku Mountain Ridge (6:30)
1-7 Classical Dance Music At The Festival Of Aburi Shrine (7:35)
1-8 Substation At Shibusawa (2:20)
1-9 Birds At Yozuku Path (4:31)
1-10 Ohdana (Large Waterfall) (5:56)
1-11 Lower Stream Of Ohdana (4:41)
1-12 Yozuku River (4:10)
2-1 Watering Place At Haragoya-Daira (3:55)
2-2 At The Foot Of Mt. Yakeyama (6:12)
2-3 Yabusame Of Murou Shrine In Rain (4:12)
2-4 View Of Nakagawa River From Under A Hohki-Sugi (4:02)
2-5 Million Times Invocation Of Yozuku (5:23)
2-6 West Tanzawa In Rain. Nishizawa And Nakagawa River (5:57)
2-7 Yamabushi At The Top Of Mt. Tohnodake (9:46)
2-8 Blue-And-White Flycatcher At Shiomizu Pass (6:07)
2-9 Narcissus Flycatcher At Dohdaira (5:33)
2-10 Watering Place Under Kannogawa-Nokkoshi (5:22)
2-11 Cicada At Mt. Hinokiboramaru (5:54)
2-12 Indian Tree Pipit At Mt. Hinokiboramaru (2:49)

Kiyoshi Mizutani rend compte d'un voyage dans les monts Tanzawa, une région aujourd'hui dépeuplée, mais qui eut une longue histoire et un certain rayonnement spirituel, hantée de légendes... Il se concentre sur trois types de sons: la nature, le folklore, incluant des rituels shinto ou bouddhistes, et les "pollutions" sonores humaines... Un disque enchanteur...

and/OAR is very pleased to present this double CD release by Japanese sound artist Kiyoshi Mizutani. The second CD is a cross platform enhanced CD containing audio that can be played on a regular CD player, plus two PDFs that can be viewed on a computer.

One PDF contains a photo gallery of Kiyoshi's journey around the Tanzawa mountain region of Japan. The second PDF contains a very large topographic map with recording points corresponding to the track numbers. Since the map is a very large file size, it is recommended that you drag the PDF onto your desktop for faster viewing. The closer into the map one goes, the more detail of the landscape one sees. Both the audio and the PDFs can be accessed at the
same time on a computer. The insert also contains a quick reference map corresponding to each track number.

The audio portion of this release relays a kind of tranquil and introspective sonic journey through the rugged yet mystical terrain. The region is full of historical significance, natural beauty and folklore (as referred to in the title). Although this release mostly features straight field recordings, there are also some composed impressionistic moments that have been inherent in much of Kiyoshi's previous work.

Also presented are recordings of certain Shinto and Buddhist ceremonies and rituals rarely heard outside of Japan.


"These just released field recordings were made in the Tanzawa region southwest of Tokyo. The Tanzawa range, a group of isolated mountains separating the areas formerly known as Kai, Musashi, and Sagami, has a vivid history. It was the scene of many historic conflicts, including the battle between Takeda and Hojo; a home and hiding place for defeated soldiers fleeing the enemy; and the site of such legends as the tragedy of the losing army's princess. It was also the location of the Hasuge and Hinata ascetics' route, a few traces of which can still be found. The recordings came about as a result of my interest in this mountainous "border" region - the people who have lived there, the natural features, the scenery. In addition to presenting
Tanzawa as it is today, it sheds light on the area's past. The recorded sounds can be divided into categories such as natural occurrences, animals, man-made structures, and folk traditions. The combination of elements found in a particular location determines the character of its atmosphere. To make this CD, I put the different combinations together in a manner of a sonic photo book. Rather than looking for a meaning in individual sounds, I suggest listening with the feeling of gazing at various landscapes, one after another. In any case, the cognitive consistency one maintains when listening to contemporary music is not a requirement here." (Kiyoshi Mizutani)
and/OAR

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Kiyoshi Mizutani - Bird Songs (Ground Fault Recordings, 2000)

1 Binzui (9:13)
2 Toratsugumi (5:52)
3 Hokora No Mizuba (16:08)
4 Tokyo Bay Bird Sanctuary (7:09)
5 Aokigahara (14:29)
6 Nimbo (5:15)

Disque dont l'essentiel est constitué de field recordinggs d'oiseaux, mais Kiyoshi Mizutani a été bien au-delà en les réhaussant d'electronique, d'une boîte à rythme ou en en faisant des collages....

Essentially these are field recordings of various nature locations. The focus mostly remains on bird songs, but it goes a little bit beyond that: Mizutani arranged and enhanced the material a bit. The song of the "Binzui" is echoed by electronic treatments, broken down to its constituents for us to marvel in its complexity. That's as far as the artist goes though. In "Aokigahara," the only non-nature sound is the tinkling of a music box (or a jack-in-the-box or other toy) played very slowly, two or three notes at a time. "Hokora no Mizuba," recorded near a spring fountain, features metallic sounds, like someone lightly hitting a metallic grid. A similar addition is heard in "Nimbo". This piece is a collage of recordings in a Chinese city. It is the only manifestation of human civilization on this album and also features a metallic "klang "(a fence?, rods of different lengths?). All these alterations (except for the electronic "birds" in the first tracks) vanish into the recorded environment.
François Couture

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