CD
Improvised Music from Japan, IMJ-513
Released in December 2003
Purchase price in Japan: 2,000 yen (tax not included)
(For purchase outside of Japan, prices vary.)
All improvised by Toshimaru Nakamura
Toshimaru Nakamura: Fender Telecaster, Gibson ES-125
Toshimaru Nakamura's main instrument has long been what he calls the "no-input mixing board." Rather than input external sound sources into the mixer, he treats the mixer as a self-contained instrument by controlling its internal feedback--the result being a truly original performance style. His many releases and live performances in Japan and abroad have been widely acclaimed, particularly in the West. But Nakamura started out as a guitarist. Side Guitar is the solo guitar album he'd been itching to make. The title comes from the term used in the sixties and seventies, in the heyday of Japanese "group sounds" bands, for backup--or rhythm--guitar players. This is Nakamura's homage to the "side guitar" playing he once aspired to. But don't be misled by the album title, or by the track title "Rhythm Guitar." This is still the Nakamura of the no-input mixing board: the sound, consisting mainly of feedback from the guitar, is uniquely abstract. As you listen, you'll catch sight of a musician who remembers his "side guitar"-idolizing self of 30 years before as he pursues the joy of making sound.
