Thefirst attempt was by Mom n' Dad Records (run by an ex-member of theHanatarash) in the mid-90s, for which each CD was to be publishedseperately. For some reason, they gave up the series after CD #5. Nowthe relatively new Israeli prog label MIO is giving it a go in themassively pocket-draining form of three 5-CD boxsets. If you haven'tyet heard Mako's 1970s records, you're in for a real pleasant shock.Along with his contemporaries, the equally legendary groups LesRallizes Denudes and Takehisa Kosugi's Taj Mahal Travellers, Makoestablished a uniquely Japanese style of over-the-top psychedelic rockmusic, bearing only a casual reference to other bands active in thesame period (in Mako's case, Faust is the easiest comparison). Thesegroups paved the way for bands like Fushitsusha, Kosukouya, Ghost, andthe rest of the heavy-as-hell (and utterly necessary) PSF Recordsscene. Because all of the music on these CDs is, essentially, Mako'snotebook for ideas that either were polished up for his "Magical Power"or "Super Record" LPs or else discarded, the work is unfocused andrambling at times. But with so much gold for the listener to digthrough, it hardly matters. Fried folk or prog tunes morph slowly intowild tape-splices, synthesizer sound-effect blasts, chanting andindescribably twisted digressions. Ideas take vague shape, feelthemselves out, and slowly push themselves to ridiculous limits. Manyof the "songs" (one track per CD, folks) meander for 15 minutes beforecoming to either a majestic revelation or studio-inflicted destruction,surely the result of a musician with no shortage of free time, potentherb and good ideas (and probably a home studio). The set comes in alovely hard-cardboard box with a booklet in English and (mostly)Japanese. Never mind that the title is in Greek, the label is inIsrael, and much of the liner notes are in Japanese... the confusionis, for me, part of the enjoyment and entirely appropriate to themusic. Incidentally, PSF fans take note: a young Keiji Haino makes anuncredited vocal appearance somewhere on disc #1, probably his earliestrecorded performance. Pick out which prepubescent yelps are his and wina real shiny US nickel. No shit. www.miorecords.com - Read More
