POIL UEDA (AS POIL UEDA)

What a weird but impressive combination POIL UEDA are! This project were formed as a musical novelty by a French avantgarde frontlines POIL and a singer / satsuma-biwa player Junko UEDA. In their debut creation, innovative extra- eccentric soundscape by POIL and eerie Japanese traditional mysticism by Junko both are great supporters for each other, and such a fascinating combo can launch one of the most incredible atmospheric effects you have ever heard. POIL's play might be more sensitive and more chamber-ish for encouraging Junko's magnificent individuality (it's said that they are impressed in Japanese traditional folk music) but they should keep their positive vibes and massive creativity even under the circumstance. How fantastic.

The first 'protective ritual' "Kujo-Shakujo" is excessively solemn. Part 1 has a bombastic energy deeply in Junko's flexible go-up voices and POIL's heavy, stabilized sound emission. The following Part 2 is structured with repetitive melodic wonder and dignified spelling. Not so complicated nor polyrhythmic the song is, but such a serious aspect through their blow-up performance must catch your inner mind, for better or worse. Finally in the last part you can hear POIL's authentic avantgarde timbre. It's another pleasure. Part 3 is the final spurt along with ultimate vital movements and dark nebura power from them all. Excellent climax.

"Dan No Ura", previously released as a demo track, has come back with deeper and wilder texture in an official manner. You can be charmed by a perfect sound maturation by them regardless of difference of musical history or origin. POIL's eccentricity of playing and Junko's weirdness of singing / fiddling are smoothly and strikingly merged and adhered to. Explosive sound extension with synthesizer-based electronika that is called as one of their characteristics can invade into your brain and muscle in the latter phase of Part 1, followed by Part 2, another hard heart-attacking tragedy. The last episode is too lonely and too tragic really. The melodic stream is crucial.

In conclusion, I'm afraid it could be difficult for every progressive rock fan to accept and appreciate this mystical album so easily, but on the other hand, some chamber avantgarde freaks should be immersed in the magical mystery tour provided by them. I'm very curious how you feel and what you think. Would you give it a listen and let me know? :)

(P.S. This review was published by permission of Dur et Doux.)

IT'S BEEN THREE YEARS. For three, painfully long years, I've been waiting for this record to drop. Indeed, PoiL still remains my favourite music act of all time, and there's no one from whom I'd anticipate new music more than these guys. For this album PoiL joins forces with traditional Japanese singer/satsuma-biwa player Junko Ueda, as well as ni's bass player Benoit Lecomte. The album is finally here, my long wait is over - but does it deliver to my expectations?

Well... yes and no. To be honest, I feel quite disappointed - not by the music, mind you, but rather by the lack of it. Let me explain.

If you attended PoiL Ueda live shows or watched some of them online, you might be aware that the band has prepared at least an hour of new material. Meanwhile, this album lasts for 30 minutes and includes just two tracks - one of which being a single released almost two years ago. So, before listening to the album, I already knew almost half of it!

So where is the rest of the material? There were at least three more 10+ minutes compositions that did not make it on the album. What happened? I can only speculate, but at the end of the day, it is really saddening to not see them on the tracklist - especially since these three omitted tracks contained a lot of fun, experimental madness I love the band for.

The music that DID make it to the record however is excellent nonetheless. Kuj' Shakuj' is an energetic, yet soothing jazz fusion-like take on a buddhist chant that's supposed to eliminate any evil spirits. Even though the level of crazyness is not though the roof, I still like this track very much. There's almost a celestial feel to it - very relaxing and full of fun at the same time. There's also a lot of phenomenal sound design thoughout the track - most likely the courtesy of Guilhem Meier's extended drum kit. Excellent!

Dan No Ura has been teased (as a demo version) all the way back in 2021, and now can be heard in a more polished, detailed version. Another excellent track, full of solid grooves and bombastic energy. I'm really impressed by how well Junko's voice is incorporated into the avant-prog sound of the band - amazing stuff!

Overall - this album would easily make for a masterpiece and my personal AOTY, had the remaining compositions made it to the tracklist. Instead, all I'm left with is a hunger for MOREEEE. I really hope that the rest of the material will get recorded and released eventually - losing it would truly be a shame.

Consider my ranking as incomplete 5 stars for an incomplete 5 star album.

On this collaborative album PoiL joins forces with Japanese vocalist and satsuma-biwa player Junko Ueda. Is avant- prog and traditional Japanese court music an awkward mix? In lesser hands, maybe, but somehow PoiL and Ueda seem to make it work seamlessly from the off. For their part, PoiL pull no punches here, serving up an instrumental backdrop that veers between sinister, abstracted soundscapes and the kind of gutsy, gleefully contorted avant-rock we've come to expect from them. Meanwhile Ueda's powerful, throaty vocals and biwa seem to glide over and seep into every nook and cranny left by the band. The result is music that is at times ethereal and enchanting, at others aggressive and alien, but consistently engaging and bursting with detail.

At barely over 30 minutes, you'd be forgiven for feeling a little shortchanged, but there is so much densely packed music within that runtime that I'm personally quite thankful that this album doesn't push its luck and risk tipping over from exhilarating to exhausting. Mind you, a second release from this collaboration would certainly not be unwelcome.

One of the most unexpected collaborative efforts of 2023 so far has to be the hyperactive avant-prog band PoiL who comes from Lyon, France teaming up with the traditional Japanese musical arts master and Tokyo based Junko Ueda who together have released an album simply titled POIL / UEDA. How one of the most spazzed out modern-day brutal prog bands could collaborate with a transcendental medieval Japanese version of a troubadour was something i could not fathom until i finally pushed play and let it all roll out!

PoiL has carved out a unique niche in the world of avant-prog with a zany zolo-esque hyperactivity fortified with Zappa-like quirkiness. Add some heavy brutal bombast and psychedelic excesses and PoiL has taken things to extremes. Each and every album adopts a different approach but there is no denying it is PoiL. Junko Ueda on the other hand is a classical artist who brings the medieval Japanese art forms of heikyoku and shōmyō to the modern world. Heikyoku is one of the oldest Japanese traditional music forms that features a bard who narrates a tale whereas the shōmyō is a type of Buddhist chant used primarily in the Tendai and Shingon sects.

Perhaps nothing should surprise fans regarding PoiL's next musical adventures as the band seems more open-minded than the average prog band but i'd bet no one saw this one coming! The album is on the short side only slinking over the 31-minute mark and basically features two themes with multiple parts. "Kujô shakujô" is a three part build up of musical mojo which is based on a Buddhist shōmyō that is practiced to ward off evil spirits. The two-part "Dan no ura" shifts gears completely and narrates a naval battle which led to the decline of the imperial Heike clan after facing off with the Genji clan. Lyrics are exclusively in the Japanese language.

While PoiL has traditionally been an unhinged untamable and unapologetically wild prog band, on this collaborative effort they seem utterly hypnotized by the soft spoken Japanese lyrics that remind me of European yodeling at times. Likewise Junko Ueda performs on the traditional Japanese instrument called the satsuma biwa which is a short-necked lute used in narrative storytelling in the Japanese culture. Ueda is the star of the show here with PoiL's rock instrumentation firmly adhering to the melodic developments suavely propelled by the chants and accompanying Japanese musical scales. Although confined on a leash so to speak, PoiL still has plenty of room to strut their proggy stuff much like a post-rock band improvises around a cyclical groove.

While such collaborations are not unheard of, it seems that the cross-pollination of cultures continues as do the mixing of the spiritual with the profane much like Ray Charles fusing gospel with American soul back in the 1950s although more of this is happening on a global scale with ever greater complexities. For anyone longing for a frenetic avant-prog display as heard on "Brossaklitt," this is not the album for you. This is an avant-garde take on ancient Japanese musical traditionals unlike anything done before. The music is relaxing and mesmerizing and even when PoiL is allowed to add the rock heft to build up deafening crescendoes, the musical flow is still very much strictly adhered to. An anomaly in the canon of both artists, this one is an amazingly satisfying of the ancient meeting the modern day developments in prog. Brilliant.

After four years, PoiL returns with another daring, angular, madcap album. 2019's Sus was a fantastic release, and it saw the band both focus its songwriting after the sprawling Brossaklitt and stretch out with a pair of 20-minute suites. On this release, the band has teamed up with biwa player and singer Junko Ueda.

I'm hardly an expert in traditional Japanese music. I knew what a biwa was before writing this review, so I'm probably ahead of most Americans, but not by much. According to Ueda's website, she specializes in "biwa storytelling" and shomyo, a type of Buddhist chant. My primary source of knowledge of Japanese folk music prior to this was Osamu Kitajima's seminal Benzaiten, a sublime synthesis of progressive rock and an array of Japonic styles.

Much like Sus, PoiL Ueda is made up of a pair of large suites, each of which typifies one of Ueda's professed specialities.

Side A of PoiL Ueda is the three-part " Kujô Shakujô", which covers the shomyo style. This suite opens with a reedy organ drone as Ueda stretches out prolonged vocal notes. As this opening movement progresses, weird synth bloops and growls burble. It's a meditative piece that focuses primarily on atmosphere, and I can absolutely see how this composition may have its stylistic roots in monastic mantras.

In its second movement, this suite sees jittery guitar arpeggios join the fray. Ueda's vocals remain drawn-out and deliberate, but the rest of the band has an eager, nervous energy. The bass is bouncy, and keys jump and jitter.

The meditative mood falls apart near the end of part two, with the emergence of  flavors of RIO and zeuhl. There's an underlying sense of tension to this track. It feels like it wants to burst free, but it's somehow restrained. This tension of restraint and exuberance pays great dividends as complex percussion, rubbery bass, twangy guitar, and oddball keyboard arrangements all dance around each other.

Ueda's vocals are restrained but powerful, and the gradual ascent from this epic's quiet opening is immensely satisfying.

The second composition on PoiL Ueda is "Dan No Ura", and it prominently features Ueda's biwa. It kicks off with her unique vocal performance as the biwa and piano cultivate a tense atmosphere.

Twisting, Yes-inspired riffs are paired alongside traditional Japanese modes and plinking chimes. It's a wonderfully artful and natural integration of Western and Japanese musical traditions.The backing riff builds to an impressive intensity, and a metallic aggression is evident as well.

Abrasive, start-stop blasts of guitar and synth lend this composition power and weight.

The second part of this piece features subdued but evocative instrumentation as Ueda weaves enthralling vocal lines. "Dan No Ura" is a bit on the short side, at only about 13 minutes. Despite this runtime, it's an impressive piece which demonstrates great skill at blending disparate musical styles.

PoiL Ueda is an impressive album. The distinctly Japanese and European flavors meld in a natural manner, and this is a cohesive and intelligent record. There are some bold musical decisions on this LP, but they all pay off. This release is an instant contender for my 2023 album of the year.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2023/02/27/album-review-poil-ueda-poil-ueda/

Here we have the latest project from RIO outfit PoiL, who have combined forces with Junko Ueda, a vocalist and satsuma-biwa player from Japan, to create a new work based on the 13th-century Japanese epic tale "Heike- Monogatari." Ueda is well-known exponent of Japanese medieval epic storytelling, and here we have his vocals and stylings over the top of the complex experimentation we have all come to expect from PoiL, who have now moved to a quartet with Antoine Arnera (keyboards, vocals), Boris Cassone (guitar, vocals), and Guilhem Meier (drums, vocals) bringing in Benoit Lecomte on acoustic bass. I know nothing about traditional Japanese music and even had to look up what a satsuma-biwa is (a pear-shaped lute in case you were wondering), so in many ways this album seems almost other-worldly to me.

There is no way this should work, as there are two distinct and distinctive musical style crashing into each other, but while this may seem somewhat sacrilegious to connoisseurs of the Japanese style, to my Western untrained ears this comes across as incredibly powerful indeed. "Kujô Shakujô - Part 3" is nothing short of a triumph with crunching and crashing RIO from a band on the top of their game somehow blending in with the Ueda to create something which is driving, dynamic, reflective and incredibly powerful. I do wonder how the album was put together, as both parts are quite separate from each other yet somehow make total sense at the same time.

PoiL Ueda have been touring, and there will be a live album released later this year, which based on this, promises to be very special indeed and is something I am already looking forward to. This will certainly not be to everyone's tastes, but for those who are willing to look beyond expected norms then this is something to be savoured.

4.5 stars. This will be high on my "Best of 2023" list. I have such an appreciation for POIL a trio out of France who play such a hyper, punkish, start and stop on a dime approach to their music. All things I'm not into but they make it work for me. Well on this latest release they have brought in a female from Japan named Junko Ueda who plays satsuma biwa and chants. She is an expert on Japanese mythology and is a story teller. Her instrument is like a lute and she holds it upright usually on her lap when she plays.

I think it's so cool that they brought in NI's bass player as well, so the POIL bass player plays guitar here. A five piece! This is otherworldly music that is mysterious and the only band I thought of was BONDAGE FRUIT I believe their "II" release but only briefly. We basically get two compositions divided into sections even though each piece blends as one. This is only a 31 plus minute album.

The "Kujo Shakujo" suite to open the record is around 18 minutes and divided into three songs. A lot of repetitive chanting on this one and a ton of atmosphere at times while the powerful sections come and go. That last section features some theatrical vocals, a lot of intensity and almost overwhelming atmosphere after 6 minutes. "Dan No Ura" is over 13 minutes and divided into two parts and puts more of the focus on her satsuma biwa but again plenty of vocals and a powerful and unique sound. I mean check it out at 7 minutes. Oh my! They slow it down on part 2 but lots of depth and a powerful undercurrent.

This is different in a good way and I'm so glad I got my hands on this. Love at first listen.

Definitely not for me. First tune is a one chord chant with the vocalist singing an Asian melody. Not sure if these are words in a language I don't know or not. Quite repetitive and dull. Second tune, more of the same but a bit of percussion is added. The guitar on the third track, for the first few minutes, sounds like it's a copy of something Adrian Belew did in King Crimson. Interesting at times but the vocal melodies are brutal to listen to. Fourth tune has many musical changes complete with noise and general weirdness. The grating vocals are still prevalent. Final tune is another chant.

This album is rated highly by many, but I don't get it.