b o b

As I mentioned in my review of Koenjihyakkei's Viva Koenji!, I'm not very familiar with the Japanese scene that this band comes out of, and only have these two albums because someone recommended them to me in a trade. I am familiar with Magma however, and they're the clear influence on this band. The music on Hundred Sights is a little more restrained than on Viva Koenji!, although that's like saying that one hurricane was a little more restrained than another because it didn't knock down as many buildings. There's still some heavy duty, aggressive stuff here mixed in with the more melodic tracks. On one hand the "toned down" sound is a good thing, as this album isn't as much an assault on the ears as the other, and for me at least that makes it more listenable. On the other hand, it also makes Hundred Sights sound more like a straight Magma clone in places. Just on certain tracks though, as there are others that sound nothing like Magma, such as "Zoltan" which sounds like a hymn recorded with a church organ and choir. I'm glad to have gotten a chance to hear both albums, but I don't think they're going to knock MDK or Wurdah Itah off the top of my favorite zeuhl album list any time soon. review by Bob Eichler — 7-31-03 —

d o m

Debut album from Yoshida's 'orthodox' zeuhl band. Well, for those of you near and dear to Ruins, this band steers ever closer to those hallowed fields of yore, when foreign tongues, interplanetary wars, and distorted bass solos were all the rage. For those caught unawares, Zeuhl is the style of choice here, though certainly in much harder, more metallic casing than Christian Vander's guerillas could muster. Tatsuya Yoshida is an elder statesmen of the Japanese underground scene, taking his cues from visionaries such as the above-noted Vander, as well as the RIO school, but filtering it through modern experimentalist theories as postulated by John Zorn and Keichi Haino. Where does this leave him? Scattered, to say the least. This band is one of dozens he is involved with; Yoshida usually favors a compartmentalized musical experience. Koenjihyakkei is, and is only, his tribute to zeuhl. For traditional prog fans, the two Koenji albums may be the most musically approachable. 'Real' vocals (with minimal screaming), flashy keyboard lines, intricate guitar and bass lines that serve nothing so much as actual melody! It is loud, and it is fairly bombastic, but this music is rooted in pieces such as "M.D.K." and "De Futura" (though it should be said that the majority of prog fans don't even like that stuff). Perhaps the most valuable player in the mix is singer/keyboardist Aki Kubota (formerly a member of Bondage Fruit). Her operatic, resonant vocal style suits this music to a tee, and it may be only for the sake of following the Magma tradition that the other group members even sing at all. She could easily front this band, or any other, all on her own. She wrote the music for two of the best (and most melodic) tunes on the disc, and she's no slouch at the keys either. The band is flanked by two other former members of Ruins, Masuda and Kuwahara. Yoshida's group of friends seemingly covers all of Tokyo, but he works best when he's surrounded by people who know his style well. review by Dominique Leone — 2-18-00 —