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| Strawberry Song Orchestra - The Origin Of Blood |
| Tenjo
Sajiki, and it's stars, writer Shuji Terayama and composer J.A. Caesar,
cast a long shadow over pretty much everything that has come after them
in both Japanese theatre and music, much like Brecht and Weill did in
the late 20s. They are arguably the most successful team in theatre, in
terms of blending live action with uncompromised rock 'n' roll. That's
rock 'n' roll, not pop: Mamma Mia this wasn't. Tenjo Sajiki works are
full of blood, pain, angst, and searing, harsh rock 'n' roll, like if
Quentin Tarantino decided to stage one of his over the top revenge
fantasies based on the music of The Thirtennth Floor Elevators. Tenjo Sajiki's followers are legion, but precious few have been able to translate to disc as well as the originals. This brings us Strawberry Song Orchestra, and their startling new album 血の濫觴 (The Origin Of Blood.) Theatrical music always runs the risk of being either to theatrical to translate to record, or too album oriented to work inside the story. I haven't seen the show this album draws from, but as an album, The Origin Of Blood is utterly fantastic, a rock solid progressive psych piece that is deeply theatrical without feeling like it's missing the story. It's easily strong enough to appeal to those who don't speak a lick of Japanese. At least, it is once you get past the opening track, a bizarre sounding dialogue that borrows heavily from the melodramatic anger that typified Tenjo Sajiki's best work. After that, the strikingly dynamic music takes over. As a song, "狂れた埋葬虫、電波、赤マント!" ("Fureta Maisou Chuu, Denpa, Akamanto!", roughly "The Worms Of The Grave, Radio Waves, and the Red Cloak!") A careening metal riff dives headlong into a high energy mashup as piano, horns, shamisen, thrash beats and dueling vocals from group leader Sensha Miyaku and Mika Tsukikage never let the song catch its breath: it's almost impossibly crowded, yet delicately focused. The album's greatest strength is the seamless integration of a bewildering array of instruments, so much so that it's not until you really listen closely that you realize just how much is packed in there. "木偶の縫子" ("Deku No Nuiko," roughly translated as ”A Child's Wooden Mannequin") alone uses piano, organ, sax, a female chorus, upright bass, and a barely audible shamisen to create it's darkly compelling, ever shifting kaleidoscope of pieces and parts (there's more than a bit of prog in there…the changes in this song would keep even the most seasoned vets on their toes.) That's before you describe the song itself, which is somewhere between slinky lounge jazz, sinister theatricality, metal, noise jazz, French accordion pop, and an atmosphere that's somewhere between Tim Burton and Louis Prima. It's a lot for one track to handle, and the fact that it moves so effortlessly is a small miracle. The Tim Burton comparison is somewhat disingenuous, as it's undoubtedly Terayama and Caesar, not Burton, who supply the inspiration for the eerie vitality that permeates the entire album. Strawberry Song Orchestra may be dark, but they're never ponderous or gloomy. There's an unflagging, nimble vitality to their music, one that invokes the sparkling gush of stage blood more than the murky dread of doom metal. At the risk of provoking cries of blasphemy, non-Japanese speakers interested in the otherworldly, sinister power of Tenjo Sajiki may do well to check out The Origin Of Blood first, as it doesn't just contain fewer long stretches of (what would be incomprehensible) dialogue, but it possesses a 21st century immediacy that brings the legendary theatre troupe's red, beating heart in sharp, modern focus. It's only January, but The Origin Of Blood may well top the year end list. |