Rovo (unjustly pegged as a Boredoms side project, when in fact they are more the project of non-Bore violinist Katsui Yuji) have been around since 1998, and have generally played a kind of heavy-trance post-rock, like Tortoise, but with energy replacing atmosphere. Previous to this band, Yuji played with Bondage Fruit; guitarist Seiichi Yamamoto is one of the principals of Boredoms; drummer Yoshigaki Yasuhiro has played with most of the big names in prog and the avant-garde; bassist Jin Harada played avant punk-prog with Bazooka Joe and is the guitarist for Koenjihyakkei.Sai is Rovo’s fourth release, though their only record to be released in America was 1999’s Imago. For fans of the previous record, the sound remains essentially the same, with lengthy, repetitive jams featuring intricate percussion (courtesy of Yasuhiro and Okabe Yoichi’s dual drum attack), profuse electronic manipulation (from Nakanishi Koji and co-producer Masuko Tatsuki), all colored by nylon and other strings (Yuji, Yamamoto and Harada). This record isn’t quite as influenced by modern electronica or "IDM" as Imago was, and transfers much of the percussive drive to more straightforwardly rock rhythm tracks.
The album begins with a track in Japanese, which I believe is translated as “Polar Star”. It starts with light, water-bounce synth effects, and gradually introduces the cymbals and hi-hat (a major player on this album), rolling and swishing away. This gives way to an actual beat, though it’s closer to hard bop than gloomy post-rock. Throughout, Yuji’s violin wails in the distance, like a disembodied vocal (or more likely, an Eno-esque ambient cry). But as underground Japanese musicians are wont to do, they play furiously where Western post-rockers would slide in unnoticed. This is where the trend gives way to inherent, indigenous qualities. There seems to be something restless in the air there, and despite all evidence of trance and hypnotic calm in the new style, they still play like free spirits.
“Vida” is the next track, leading off with an expository hi-hat duet (one drummer on the left side, the other on the right). There is a sine-wave mediator to keep things colorful. This slight diversion lasts better than three minutes (all four of the tracks here are over 10 minutes long) before the band kicks in with a relatively straight, if rapid Krautrock groove drummers fighting in synch all the while. Again, Yuji’s violin colors the track, paired with various synth noises and textures, and Yamamoto’s restrained strumming figures.
“Rano” begins with a similar bouncy keyboard figure to the first track, though this time accompanied by what sounds like a constant stream of water, spraying at its fancy in the background. There are few radar blips before the rest of the players come in with Sai’s calmest tune. An ostinato synth line, with equal parts wah-wah and analog pad resonance, fires away and the song crescendos to a double time trance-rock jam. The best part of this album is that you could listen to it whilst tripping, letting it serve as support system for various epiphanies, or you could peer in to the detail, and be treated to incredible musicianship and a more compact sound than seven people would be expected to make.
The last tune is “Seer”, which again features the hi-hat duet, though ridiculously precise where the earlier one was exploratory. Drummers should get a kick out of this album, if no one else, though this stuff should work as well for laypeople and don’t worry, there is a little guitar to fluff it up a bit! Of course, Yamamoto seems to be playing with the velvet touch these days, a far cry from his Stooges-come-Melvins skronk of the early part of the last decade. It's a nice ending, and hopefully just another chapter in the history of one of Japan's best current bands.
review by Dominique Leone — 2-11-02 —
