SWAN DIVE

KOREKYOJINN consists of Yoshida (RUINS, KOENJIHYAKKI) on drums, Kido (BONDAGE FRUIT) on guitar and NASUNO (ALTERED STATES, GROUND ZERO) on bass. Hoppy guests prominantly on the last two tracks with vocals and keyboards. Hoppy and Yoshida played with Elton Dean and Hugh Hopper on that SOFT MOUNTAIN release. And like that session, this one is also completely improvised.

"Magnetic Pole" is so impressive early with the bass, guitar and drums kicking ass before 1 1/2 minutes. It does settle some but it's far from being settles if you know what I mean. Some vocal expressions come in. It does calm down 5 minutes in then it starts to build with vocals. The guitar is great 10 minutes in as he solos until another calm arrives after 11 minutes. It builds again as this theme continues to be repeated. Check out the guitar just lighting it up 15 1/2 minutes in. Just an outstanding track. I like the calm sections and of course the all out assaults. "Nonobservance" sounds great early as each member impresses with their intricate yet powerful play. Some vocal expressions after 5 minutes. It's building after 5 1/2 minutes then check out the guitar 6 minutes in. The bass is growling deeply. It settles before 9 1/2 minutes then builds. Chaotic is the word as the guitar makes lots of noise and the vocals come in. "Vothqrassent" is a little chaotic to open and the guitar isn't pleasant by any means. That changes though. A calm 4 1/2 minutes. Love the drumming after 6 minutes and the guitar too.

"Palljimgrahana" opens with percussion and other almost distant sounds. It's building as the guitar and drums come to the fore. Great sound 2 1/2 minutes in. The guitar is making lots of noise 4 minutes in. So much going on though. It settles before 5 minutes but it's far from being calm. "Guru Zakun Kin Kan" is the longest track at over 24 minutes. Percussion and other sounds as the angular guitar melodies arrive. It's building. Synths follow with whistling and vocal expressions before 6 minutes. Nice bass after 7 minutes. A calm followed by synths which really add to the mood here. Vocals after 12 minutes in a powerful soundscape. A calm then it builds again. Check out the drumming,bass and keyboards after 15 minutes. Again the tempo and mood continue to shift. It's so moving 20 1/2 minutes in when the mellotron washes in. It's hard to express really. It's been so powerul and often difficult then out of nowhere beauty appears. Vocal melodies join the mellotron to great effect. Hoppy starts to sound like Christian Vander vocally.The guitar after 22 minutes sounds fantastic with the synths, bass, vocals and drums as the tempo picks up. I tell you this song and the 17 1/2 minute opener are brilliant. "Surabaya" is the 4 1/2 minute closer. Intricate but powerful sounds come and go. Some vocal expressions from Hoppy. They're kicking ass 2 1/2 minutes in. It settles a minute later.

This is not for the faint of heart. Adventerous, frantic, complex, powerful, dissonant and at times beautiful, but never boring.

This album is a real treat. For the price of a single disc, we get a CD literally full of amazing improvised live material (tracks 1 and 2 recorded in February 2008, 3 and 4 in November 2008, and 5 and 6 in October 2006), the majority of which is recorded with one guest or another (guitarist Uchihashi Kazuhisa on 3 and 4 and keyboardist/vocalist Hoppy Kamiyama on 5 and 6). On top of that, we get a DVD of the group performing live (again, recorded during several sessions between 2004 and 2008) with only the core members of the group. Both discs are incredible material, and while the DVD is incredibly fun to watch as it lets me (sort of) experience the group live, I vastly prefer the CD.

The CD tracks, as I mentioned, are all improvisations. They're also the only tracks by the group (as far as I know) with vocals. Most of the time, the group holds together so well during the improvs that you'd insist they were composed pieces if you didn't know they were improvised. The additions of guests on most of the tracks doesn't detract from this in any way either. Hoppy Kamiyama's style of vocals and keyboard are pretty unique, and I've grown to really like what he does. Ever since I first listened to the CD, I've thought the track "Guru Zakun Kin Kan" is one of the best pieces of music of the last 50 years (at least!), and that's definitely helped out by his contributions. Really, it's a track which encompasses everything the group could do in just over 24 minutes. We've got everything from the most chaotic, cacophonous bits to moments of sublime beauty (especially past the 20 minute mark). They really can do it all, folks. This track really makes me wish Yoshida would start a group with that lineup. Of course, the tracks with Uchihashi are no less exciting, nor are the tracks with only the core trio. This one really just hit me most strongly.

The DVD is great as well; here we get to see the composed side of the band which is most commonly displayed. Sound and video quality are both fine by my standards, but I doubt most people would consider the video quality amazing. One thing I've noticed from watching this DVD and the other couple I have with Yoshida...for how insane his drumming is, he often looks completely calm, almost even bored behind the drums. I guess that may be why he plays regularly with more bands than I can count with two hands. They're all definitely enjoying the concert though, that much seems obvious to me. I love watching them play the material here. It definitely adds another dimension to listening to the live stuff, which is already fun enough. My only real complaint about the DVD material is the lack of any tracks with Hoppy K. or Uchihashi. I would have enjoyed watching that quite a lot, I'm sure. Still, I'm more than happy enough with what is presented.

This is a very worthwhile purchase, which I think is a great second purchase from the band (after Jackson). If you're a fan of Yoshida's music, you definitely need to check this one out. As I said in one of my other reviews of the band's albums, the group sounds like heavy prog gone crazy, haha. Swan Dive is one of my two favorite releases from the group so far, easily earning another five star rating. Hopefully the new one will be just as good.