Over 30 years ago, a band called Ruins formed in Tokyo and steadily became one of the most complex and dissonant musical acts in Japanese history. The noisy bass-drum two-piece were the honorary predecessors to Lightning Bolt, Hella, Pneu, Cheval de Frise and the myriad other punk-noise duos across the globe. In 1991, Ruins’ founding member Tatsuya Yoshida decided to expand his musical arsenal and formed ensemble act Koenjihyakkei (named after a district in Tokyo), which shifted away from raw, dissonant progressive punk towards the sonic overload and eccentric nature of ‘zeuhl’.
It’s 2018 and Tatsuya has not let up. The only consistent member of both the Ruins and Koenjihyakkei projects (as well as several others), he continues to craft new music that challenges as well as captivates. This year, Koenjihyakkei have returned from a 13 year hiatus to release one of their most compelling albums to date.
‘Djebelaki Zomn’ is the wild and wonky fifth track from Koenjihyakkei’s upcoming record Dhorimviskha, and sees the band effortlessly picking up where they left off with Angherr Shisspa in 2005. Spanning almost ten minutes in length, the band work through a frenzied array of oddball choral harmonies, jazzy piano, frenetic guitar solos, and thundering percussion. Combined, it’s an excessive sensory experience showcasing the bands bizarro aesthetic and Tatsuya’s warped musical world.
Don’t forget to chip in on the band’s Kickstarter to get this album, and its gorgeous artwork, onto dazzling gatefold vinyl.
Koenjihyakkei’s new album ‘Dhorimviskha’ will be out this August via our humble friends in Skin Graft Records. In the meantime, get your hands on the remastered version of the band’s amazing 2005 album ‘Angherr Shisspa’ right now.