Keiji Haino
Two startling nights at Cafe Oto. The first in the Project Space billed as an acoustic set and the second in the cafe with Russell Haswell. On night one KH’s performance was preceded by an announcement concerning the vocals: ‘..these are part of sound rather than actual singing.’ The ‘songs’, that book-ended instrumental improvisations, included versions of ‘Light My Fire’, ‘Cosmic Dancer’ and ‘Strange Fruit’. Night two included a dense, spatial solo set by Russell Haswell, a complex duo and another episodic collection of solo improvisations with more ‘songs’ from Haino. On this occasion he was introduced thus: ‘he’s a music machine and a singer.’ This time round the selection included ‘Yesterday’, ‘People are Strange’, ‘Song to a Siren’ and, once again, an extremely unsettling rendition of ‘Strange Fruit’.
Haino’s work occupies a space that allows a ‘singer’ to not sing and, at the same time, it is in the uneasy, overlapping zone of ‘music machine’ and musician.
Russell Haswell
Haswell and Haino
likeahammerinthesink 
Great drawings once again, Callum.
The playing cards add some interesting textures.
Great post. Could almost imagine being there. The drawings on ruled paper … are they sacrosanct as a series? I’ve got my eye on one for a “Hey Calum, I really like that drawing, ummm, any chance … ?”
Hi Charles….it’s not that they are a set but I have not yet worked out the long term future of any of these drawings….so for now they are all ‘archived’…
II still kind of tremble when I see Haino’s name as it reminds me of the loudest set I’ve ever heard. In a basement in a small club in Glasgow, the volume was colossal. Luckily I had the next day off as I don’t think I would have been able to work. Saw him on another occasion with Tony Conrad which was great and fine volume wise.