The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation

Anthropomorphic

Written by: DR on 06/05/2011 19:47:50

It's not unusual for an album to reach the hour mark, but when that album is one continuous piece - it technically has only one track - conventions are best left at the door when approaching it. But, with a band name like The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation, you weren't expecting anything normal... were you?

Featuring members of soon-to-be-reviewed The Kilimanjaro Jazz Ensemble and other guest musicians, The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation have so far released three sessions - a word they use because all of their releases are on improvisation sessions - with "Anthropomorphic" being their third thus far.

Despite it being an uninterrupted composition, "Anthropomorphic" was performed/recorded in three parts, in three different cities, in three different countries. For the first of which in particular, their self-assigned 'Doomjazz' name is appropriate because of the minimalistic approach adopted: one member's trombone sluggishly exhausts while another member squeezes an atmosphere out of guitar effects. It's 'Jazz in pain', as Fuji say.

Gradually, other instruments begin to dominate the soundscape; before you know it the trombone is subdued and your ears are being subjected to agitated, warping electronics. Later on, the strings of a cello and violin create a haunting echo, almost as if they were recorded alone in a spooky house. It's these atmospheres, and Fuji's immaculate control over them in their world they've created that, for an hour, frees your mind to wander and create patterns in your head, so when the transition from stage to the next happens, it feels seamless.

There are a few ways to approach something like "Anthropomorphic", and with each you'll find more to appreciate. Yes, it's a headphone album (provided you own a good pair), that you can listen to uninterrupted in the dark and allow yourself to be enveloped in the atmosphere, but it's also something you have on in the background while you read. I could go describing the changes in character, how a constant ominous ambience is maintained despite the various layers created and the ever-changing textures, but I won't, for both your sake and mine. This is a work that defies genres, conventions and stereotypes; a throwback to music as a composition, as an art.

8

Download: All of it.
For The Fans of: 'Jazz in pain'
Listen: Myspace

Release Date 18.02.2011
Denovali Records



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