CHRISTINE 23 ONNA

Catch the wave if nostalgic!

Sitting comfortably in 2002, in a retro "post-surf rock" , tainted (for real) with punk and artsy (rudimentary) electronics, Christine 23 Onna's "Acid Eater" is quiet overrated by the few who have rated it. Sadly because I was really looking forward to aquiring it.

Although I was not that impressed by the previous 2000 "Shiny Crystal Planet", I felt tempted and believed.

Songwriting will appeal to all the Quentin Tarantino's soundtrack lovers. I like a couple of his movies but that is it. So, progressive electronic speaking it is full of cliched a-go go, psychedelic surf riffs, some "crazy" raw electronic experimentations and here and there some real new proposals. Because this project came upon, I repeat in 2002, and by those times a thousand things had already happened, thank the gods, to electronic music in general.

Diagnostic> It is quiet healthy to listen to other kind of stylings besides Prog. You will not be "tricked" so easily.

Unimpressive, rudimentary, uninspired songwriting most of the times with a more or less interesting blend of styles in some fragments and bridges and last but not least not original at all.

I am not amused.

Tops, with pity ***3 (without it **2.5) PA stars. And if interested dig through Yello, Underworld or Floating Points (none in PA, so far) , for new real musical proposals in this same tenor and more.

Exactly another addictive agent, this mysterious music "Sexaholia" is.

CHRISTINE 23 ONNA were founded as one of Maso YAMAZAKI's projects (like Masonna, Space Machine, or South Saturn Delta), by Maso and Fusao TODA (ex-Angel'in Heavy Syrup) in 1998. This critical electronic duo have given a music strategy for "a fusion of the psychedelic phrases of accomplished guitarist and composer Fusao, and the spacey electronics of Maso (quoted from their website)", quite different from the other projects of Maso mentioned above.

Gradually invaded into my deep brain and instantly broken the tissue structure in pieces ... I'd not been fond of this album indeed, but amazingly it was only a fake. Got immersed in such a loud, annoying atmosphere through the acid sound-garden created by two rox / sex experts.

Consider that their soundscape can be divided into three fragments basically. One is a comfortable "pop" world soiled / violated with a bunch of irritating noise dirts (like the very beginning stuff "Fantasisco" or "The Last Hunter" or so, heavy, deep, and danceable groove numbers along with their catchy sense), one is an electronic ambiance like "Unknown Planet", with meditative, hallucinogenic medication spice (actually this frag is my favourite, where I can get drenched fully in their transcendental meditation with the basic human activity), and one is an acid noisy dirty violation itself (e. g. "Acid Now!", the titled one or the last "Erotopia - The Climax"). Yeah dazzling capricious states of sound can be attractive for us too, let me say.

We can feel sometimes go-ahead-ly enthusiastic, sometimes mysteriously inspirational, and sometimes toughly nauseous. And finally we will get absorbed deeply into their mischievous electronic sound structure with heavy, loud guitar noises and deep, percussive rhythm quakes. Honestly I cannot help recommending this funkadelic electronic explosive album for every freak elektronika. Woohoo.

I've been trying to buy a hard copy of this ever since I heard it, which was a couple of hours after hearing Shiny Crystal Planet at a friend's house (a download). It's mostly programmed stuff, instrumental, with absolutely loads of great synthesizer noises all the way through which sound somewhat like an afterthought but actually lift a good record into the stratosphere of druggy space rock. No longwinded noodling here. It is their second best album by a whisker and stands out like a beacon amongst the morass of bland number ticking that passes for progressive music these days. Christine 23 Onna push all my buttons and raise a smile every time I hear them. I'm not going to intellectualise, these guys (a guy and a girl) seriously rock in a superspace way. It reminds me of Hawkwind meeting disco and jazz, taking drugs and having a jam. Absolutely delicious. There's no point in dancing about architecture here, check it out, love it, tell your friends and maybe we can get a hard copy re-released.

Christine 23 Onna is a super-sexadelic electronic rock project formed by Maso Yamazaki (Space Machine). This is clearly in the vein of others Japanes neo-hippie eccentricities with a constant fascination, nostalgy for retro-psychedelic rock stuffs, kitsch groovy sounds and kosmische dementia. This japanese scene is very prolific and the musical quality is not always at the top, however it provides a few surprises, Acid Eater is one of them. I'm not sure that you can find trippiest / kitshiest things today. Christine 23 Onna delivers wild, freaky kosmische-kraut compositions full of molecular / cosmic noises and irresistable fuzzed psychedelic rockin' epics. Fantastico opens the dance with a sulfurous, sexy fuzzy psych groovy rock composition, distorted by abundant electronic oscillations, crazy hammond organs. The rest is exactly in the same line, deliciously kitschy, reasonating as a perfect pastiche of things offered in the golden sphere of classic psychedelic rock. Imagine something between Klaus Schulze (without the dark side), cheesy pop electronics from J.J Perrey, Cecil Leuter, the acid pop of Kaleidoscope and the sound of 60's sexy groovin' parties. This stuff would be perfect as soundtrack for old vintage-B grade films released by directors Russ Meyer (Beyond the valley of the dolls), Roger Corman (The trip), Jess Franco (Vampyros Lesbos) and many others. Nicely made, this stuff will propulse you back to the late 60's.