I associate the catalog of underground Geneva imprint dents de scie in large part with the moth-eaten tape collages of in-house projects presque fantôme and crève-chiens. Over the years, though, the label has diversified in terms of both styles and locations, and at this point whatever they put out is always a surprise. Kaya Takada, a.k.a. Oriental Love, hails from the Koenji district of Tokyo, where they also run a cafe/gallery/events space called Oriental Force. Their newest tape In the State of Emergency, appropriately, is the loudest and most in-your-face dds release I’ve heard so far. Based on the cover photo as well as the live footage I’ve seen, Takada seems interested in the aesthetics of excess and detritus. When they perform they wear a headpiece that looks like it’s made out of different textile strips and juggling scarves, and their table is strewn with effects boxes, patch cables, and colored lights. This fixation on abundance carries over into the music, which comprises layers upon layers of clashing textures. The individual tendrils of noise ooze along at a plodding pace, but as they shift on top of each other and fuse together, the effect is as overwhelming as if they were moving at lightning speeds. Distorted drones rumble like war machine engines, air raid sirens blare with brassy dissonance. I’m not sure how much of the six-track set was produced live or via overdubs, but either way it has an organic, gestural momentum to it. If you like the sound of this, you won’t have to break the bank to grab a copy—dents de scie has some of the fairest prices and shipping rates in the game. Plenty of older tapes are still available too.
Noise Not Music 