Mai Mao // Ricshari LP

Shizuo Uchida and Kyosuke Terada, the improvisational duo Mai Mao, who play more than 100 live performances a year and are leading the underground experimental scene in Tokyo, will launch a French experimental label in September 2022.It is a record released from An'archives with a limitation of 285 copies. Comes with DL code.

Includes 4 dazzling kaleidoscope collage jazz songs woven by guitar, bass, and a large number of effectors.Below is an explanation.

Japanese free improvisation duo MAI MAO's first LP.Uchida (bass) from Shizuo Hasegawa and Albedo Gravitas, and Terada from HUH (soon to be released from An'archives), TERROR SHIT, Bay City Rolaz, Praymate and The Obey Unit.

MAI MAO's music progresses through contradictions and parallels.From the frantic rush of flying notes to the granular stillness of Uchida and Terada dipping their instruments in and out of deep fountains of silence, or temporarily submerging themselves in fermenting lagoons of fuzz. It looks different.In the opening "Chew a flying flash prayer," the guitar and bass leap into each other in leapfrog and twister games, finding new ways to bewilder the listener, and presumably each other in the process, Uchida and Terada are completely out of place. Devoted to short-sightedness.

This energy is very lively, but at the same time shows curiosity and devoted attention to improvisational reactions, and can split in different directions in an instant.So purely free-thinking, the committed duo's improvisation unfolds in its most playful and intelligent way.Side by side with Davey Williams & LaDonna Smith and the rest of the Transmusk, or the Dave Dove Paul duo's sinister, enigmatic bass synth and trombone duet, what's going on here? Or at least a temporary figure will come into view. -John Dale

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Includes DL code. Edition of 285. Comes in a silkscreened chipboard jacket with obi (black or textured tan), inserts and a postcard.

An archives:

"First LP from Japanese free improvising duo MAI MAO. Consisting of Shizuo Uchida of Hasegawa-Shizuo, Albedo Gravitas, archeus, Kito Muzukami Rouber, TERROR SHIT, UH, etc. on bass, and Kyosuke Terada, of HUH (who have their own release) due on An'archives soon), TERROR SHIT, Bay City Rolaz, Praymate, The Obey Unit, etc. on guitar, they've previously released two wild cassettes, Curvature Improvement Plan (Haang niap, 2020) and Folk Dope Rally (2021 ), both documenting one-take improvisations from live gigs. Ricshari was recorded by Nobuki Nishiyama in January 2021, and is proof, if any was needed, that this duo is one of the most fiercely unique, out-there units currently extant – in Japan, or anywhere, for that matter.

The music of MAI MAO seems to proceed by opposites and juxtaposition, shifting from frantic, hectic runs of splattering note spray to moments of granular stasis, where Uchida and Terada coax their instruments into and out of deep wells of silence, or rest, temporarily, in a lagoon of fermenting fuzz. jumping over one another in games of leapfrog and Twister, finding new ways to perplex and puzzle the listener, and perhaps each other in the process, Uchida and Terada fully committed to the short-circuiting spirit of the moment.

The energy here is hyperactive, but it also speaks of a curious and committed attention to improvisatory responsiveness, one that's just as likely to fork off into different directions in a split second – it's real edge-of-the-seat stuff, as though the hands are moving too fast for the mind to follow. That's all the better, then, to let the gush of genuinely free-thinking, devoted duo improvisation to fly at its most playful and intelligent. File next to the likes of Davey Williams & LaDonna Smith and their TransMuseq companions, or the wickedly perplexing bass-synth/trombone duets of Dave Dove Paul Duo, and you've some idea of ​​what's going on here, provisionally at least, 'cos this one's an enthralling, yet welcoming, head- scratcher of the highest calibre. " 

Artist : Mai Mao

Label: Label: An archives