Ki

Limited to 285 copies in silkscreened white jacket with obi (black), inserts and a postcard. Ki is a trio that pits long-time collaborators Tamio Shiraishi (saxophone, voice) and Takahashi Michiko aka Mico (drums, voice, vocoder, melodica, piano, percussion) against drummer, percussionist and vocalistFritz Welch. They each bring a wealth of experience, from Shiraishi's early moves in the Japanese underground of the late '70s and early '80s - he was a founding member of Fushitsusha, and played with Taco and Machinegun Tango - to his legendary,late-night solo New York subway performances, he and Mico also spent some time playing with No Neck Blues Band, while Welch, currently based in Glasgow, has a long history taking in stints with Peeesseye, Lambs Gamble and FvRTvR. 'Tearful Face Of My Cute Love [Is Begging To Me],' named after a yakuza song, is Ki's first LP, after CD-Rs on Chocolate Monk ('Ki No Sei,' 2009) and Unverified ('Stops Dropping,' 2010). Documenting two live performances from 2008, it's a startling, wild freedomchase, each piece stretching languorously across one side of the vinyl, giving the trio maximum space to thunder their way through space and time. Their West Nile 2008 show, on side one, opens with a battery of drums, fierce and livid, before Shiraishi's unmistakable and remarkable whinnying, high-zone tone slithers into earshot. The stage is set, the battlemoves forward, yet there's remarkable simpatico between the three players, with Mico and Welch volleying guttural vocal exhortations at each other. When it does offer respite - see the sudden swoop into near-silence at around 12:30 - everything's still tense, who knows what's around the corner?For all its fury, though, 'Tearful Face Of My Cute Love...' is full of oddly lyrical moments, too - see the sweet melody that winds out, with gentle melancholy, near the very end of the West Nile performance. This lyricism also haunts the second side of the album, a performance from Glassland, Brooklyn, which seems more focused on the int...