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KK Null, "Fertile"
Being a noise musician is kind of like joining the mafia. Sure, you can do other things with your life, branch out and try something new, but you can never really leave the scene. Seeing a release on Touch, that bastion of UK beard-stroking electronic experimentation, would lead one to think Kazuyuki Kishino has dropped the guitar noise and tossed out the effects in favor of a Powerbook and Max/MSP…but that would be wrong.
KK shows a more medatative, compositional side here yet still manages to throw enough feedback and distortion in to keep it a KK Null release. The opening screech of the first track, "0415," is just as harsh as anything else he's recorded as KK Null, ANP, or Zeni Gava, and is more jarring than a hot coffee enema in the morning. The difference between this and any other faceless noise release, however, is that the static eventually fades away, revealing a backdrop of heavily effected and delayed electronic tones, junk metal percussion, and finally swelling back up into the harsh static from the beginning. This is a somewhat stark contrast from the next track, "0418," which is based around low end loops and rhythmic electronic tones, with just a hint of noise mixed in.
Fertile was inspired by field recordings made during a trip to Australia, many of which were then integrated into unfinished studio tracks, though often mangled beyond recognition. It makes for a nice contrast between the digital harshness of his electronics, and the subtle, organic sounds derived from these nature recordings. Just don't expect Chris Watson audio documentaries here.
One of the excellent things about this work is how strikingly diverse it is from track to track. Besides the aforementioned tracks, there's "0500," with its looped field recordings and electronic percussion, right next to "0359," which sounds like Null playing a rousing game of Space Invaders through a bank of guitar effects. The album ends with two longer tracks, both consisting of more overt field recordings and organic textures and enough reverb to scare Lee "Scratch" Perry.
Kishino has made a very different release under the Null moniker that shows he is exhibiting a sense of growth and an urge to try new things and styles, but still keeps that harsh noise history of his around to keep that cred with the noise fans.
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