Improvised Music from Japan, IMJ-513
Released in December 2003
Purchase price in Japan: 2,000 yen (tax not included)
(For purchase outside of Japan, prices vary.)
All improvised by Toshimaru Nakamura
Toshimaru Nakamura: Fender Telecaster, Gibson ES-125
Toshimaru Nakamura's main instrument of late has been what he calls the "no-input mixing board." Rather than input external sound sources into the mixer, he treats it as a self-contained instrument by controlling its internal feedback--the result being a truly original performance style. Over the past four years, Nakamura has released the solo "NIMB" CDs No-Input Mixing Board (on the Zero Gravity label), No-Input Mixing Board 2 (a bruit secret), Vehicle (cubic music), and No-Input Mixing Board [3] (Alcohol). These releases and his many live performances in Japan and abroad have been widely acclaimed, particularly in the West. But Nakamura started out as a guitarist, and still plays his guitar from time to time. Side Guitar is the solo guitar album he's been itching to make. The title comes from the term used in the sixties and seventies, in the heyday of Japanese "group sounds" bands, for backup--or rhythm--guitar players. This is Nakamura's homage to the "side guitar" playing he once aspired to. Don't be misled, however, by the album title, or by the track title "Rhythm Guitar." This is still the Nakamura of the no-input mixing board: the sound, consisting mainly of feedback from the guitar, is uniquely abstract. As you listen, you'll catch sight of a musician who remembers his "side guitar"-idolizing self of 30 years ago as he pursues the joy of making sound.
