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06'02 |
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JOSEPH NOTHING
Dreamland Idle Orchestra (ZIQ055) Planet Mu 2002 17 Tracks. 46mins58secs. Buy this CD on line now |
The Dreamland theme park was one of Yoshida’s favourite haunts. Old fashioned and deserted by the traditional hordes of tourists, the park eventually closed down recently, but the ambience of the funfair survives in Joseph Nothing’s music. Even more than on his previous album, Yoshida plays with atmospheres, constantly overlapping beats and melodies, changing direction, or so it seems, all the way through. Nothing is ever static in his music. Alternating between short and longer tracks, Yoshida also alternates fast-forwarding and more introvert moments, giving his audience no time to get used to any particular incidence. It is not to say that there is no consistency at all here as the man remains firmly in control of his wild machinery by putting great care into each little melody and orchestration. The way his music comes together is unique, and, rare thing in electronic music, extremely humoristic. In turn intense and swift or delicate and cheerful, Yoshida’s enchanted creations display his considerable talent to its full extend. The exuberant enjoyment that he gets out of playing music is palpable everywhere, most of all on Wind May Blows Nobody, a funk-meets-new wave-meets-heavy metal joke, Fat Baby, where raw funk history is rewritten in two an a half minutes, Secret Calm Life, which sounds like an outtake of a bad Italian western movie soundtrack, the pinball bonanza of Spiral Cloud, or even when he wonders on Boards Of Canada territory wearing flip-flops, as on the magnificent Still. But the best moment of the album is to be found when the Dreamland Idle Orchestra makes an appearance in full formation, parading in the streets of the theme park, once again filled with kids laughing. The alarmingly simple melody of Exhausted Marching Island proves to be the most unlikely manifestation of excellence, and, despite its slightly melancholic tone, is a vibrant homage to the spirit of funfairs.
Disconcerting, this album definitely is, but nothing less would be expected from this fertile talent. Tatsuya Yoshida proves once again than variety is not necessarily a bad thing, and by cramming as much emulations of genres as he can into forty minutes, he maintains the interest of the listener while developing the most poetic of idioms.
| 01 | Dreamland Idle Orchestra | 10 | The Incredible Journey In My Flying Saucer |
| 02 | Icon | 11 | Secret Calm Life |
| 03 | Wind May Blows Nobody | 12 | Its Next Step Toward Nothing |
| 04 | Still | 13 | Brown Sky Walker |
| 05 | Spiral Cloud | 14 | Yesterday Evening |
| 06 | Skinny Land | 15 | Or |
| 07 | March To The D.I.O. | 16 | Underground Cafe |
| 08 | Exhausted Machine Island | 17 | Blind Theme For All |
| 09 | Fat Baby |
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03'01 |
 |
JOSEPH NOTHING
Dummy Variations (ZIQ027) Planet Mu 2001 17 Tracks. 44mins42secs. Buy this CD on line now |
Tatsuya
Yoshida, as he is known to his parents, releases his first album under
his Joseph Nothing moniker on Michael Paradinas’ Planet Mu label. Reminiscent
of both Paradinas’ µ-ziq and Richard D. James’ Aphex Twin projects,
Yoshida also brings his own personality to a funky and imaginative record.
All along this album, the shadows of his masters are present, especially on tracks like A Shine On Your Head or Ballad For The Unloved, where Nothing displays a comparable ability to Paradinas or James with drill’n’bass ambiences. However, Yoshida also creates more clever songs, using a plethora of noises and beat configurations, as in the hip-hop inspired Exotic Man Walking or Divine Lowlife, the bouncy electro-pop So Far So Good or the pac-man-esque Disc O’Nostalgia. All the way through, Yoshida applies sounds and effects to child-like melodies, turning them into humorous little odysseys, ranging from totally innocent to messy punk-ish tracks, with no particular order. Tracks like But Not For Me or The Day Before Yesterday are impressive by their melodic qualities and catchy feel. But then, Every Beauty Has It’s Scum, So Far So Good or Belly Button Queen are far more deconstructed. Yoshita has a tendency to disregard the rules, and genres collide when least expected, which makes Dummy Variations a refreshing experience.
Keeping well in line with most of Planet Mu releases, Joseph Nothing’s Dummy Variation is very heteroclite, and by scattering his little gems all along, he remains in control of a very creative and amusing record.
All along this album, the shadows of his masters are present, especially on tracks like A Shine On Your Head or Ballad For The Unloved, where Nothing displays a comparable ability to Paradinas or James with drill’n’bass ambiences. However, Yoshida also creates more clever songs, using a plethora of noises and beat configurations, as in the hip-hop inspired Exotic Man Walking or Divine Lowlife, the bouncy electro-pop So Far So Good or the pac-man-esque Disc O’Nostalgia. All the way through, Yoshida applies sounds and effects to child-like melodies, turning them into humorous little odysseys, ranging from totally innocent to messy punk-ish tracks, with no particular order. Tracks like But Not For Me or The Day Before Yesterday are impressive by their melodic qualities and catchy feel. But then, Every Beauty Has It’s Scum, So Far So Good or Belly Button Queen are far more deconstructed. Yoshita has a tendency to disregard the rules, and genres collide when least expected, which makes Dummy Variations a refreshing experience.
Keeping well in line with most of Planet Mu releases, Joseph Nothing’s Dummy Variation is very heteroclite, and by scattering his little gems all along, he remains in control of a very creative and amusing record.
| 01 | A Shine On Your Head | 10 | Exotic Man Walking |
| 02 | But Not For Me | 11 | Belly Button Queen |
| 03 | The Day Before Yesterday | 12 | Disc O'Nostalagia |
| 04 | Divine Lowlife | 13 | Last Rights |
| 05 | Are | 14 | A Bad Day In The Midlife |
| 06 | Every Beauty Has It's Scum | 15 | The Day After Tomorrow Pt.2 |
| 07 | So Far So Good | 16 | Fumbling Towards Ecstacy |
| 08 | Ballad For The Unloved | 17 | At The Park |
| 09 | The Day After Tomorrow Pt.1 |
ROM=PARI VIEW Sub Rosa 1999 Buy it on
line now
|
Thanks For The
Party
6000000000 Damaged People (Minus Myself) Lisp Albert Fish Jim & Betty Here They Scum! Fuzz Factory As Sick As Possible Transmutaion Hip Hop Still Need Mc & CM? Most Beautiful Ending _ |
|
JOSEPH NOTHING DUMMY VARIATIONS Planet Mu 2001 Buy it on
line now
|
A Shine On Your
Head
But Not For Me The Day Before Yesterday Divine Lowlife Are Every Beauty Has It's Scum So Far So Good Ballad For The Unloved The Day After Tomorrow Pt.1 Exotic Man Walking Belly Button Queen Disc O'Nostalagia Last Rights A Bad Day In The Midlife The Day After Tomorrow Pt.2 Fumbling Towards Ecstacy At The Park _ |
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JOSEPH NOTHING DREAMLAND IDLE ORCHESTRA Planet Mu 2002 Buy it on line now |
Dreamland
Idle Orchestra
Icon Wind May Blows Nobody Still Spiral Cloud Skinny Land March To The D.I.O. Exhausted Machine Island Fat Baby The Incredible Journey In My Flying Saucer Secret Calm Life Its Next Step Toward Nothing Brown Sky Walker Yesterday Evening Or Underground Cafe Blind Theme For All |
| JOSEPH
NOTHING IS ABSENT
The Official Joseph Nothing site is as simple as Tatsuya Yoshida's music is complex. A couple of videos to download, a few news and a discography... What esle do you need?... |
| PLANET
MU
Michael Paradinas, aka µ-ziq, Jack Slazenger or Kid Spatula, started his very own imprint only a few years ago, and he has used it to promote very interesting new artists, such as Jega, Capitol K, or more recently Leafcutter John and Joseph Nothing. |