I always get happy when we get mail or material from unknown labels. Why? Because it's Google Time! Time to learn new stuff about new artists, and now and then, you get to find out about something that triggers you in some way. So when Ewan from Input Error asked if we would be interested in his latest output ( ** note from the editor: There will be several input-output puns in this review, most of them are intended, some probably accidental **), of course, I'll say yes. The previews we were sent were really promising. As for Input Error, the list of releases contain some names we all know and some lesser known. So it might be interesting to check it out on the website or Discogs.
Toshimaru Nakamura is a name I had not heard of before, which is strange as he's been active since 1995. "Guitar and No-Input mixing board player", states his Discogs profile and shitloads of releases. So my anticipation here is that he is someone who knows what he's doing with mixers. The four tracks on "NIMB #11" (I'll be using this abbreviation from now on) are between 8 and 20 minutes. Fifty minutes in total of NIMB-ing. Sessions that are simply titled #71, #72, #73 and #74 with additional location and date of recording. Sessions? Live performances? The information doesn't state that part, but a few things came to mind while listening to the tracks.
First, NIMB-ing is a one-take session where you create loops around a mixer and control your feedback loops. And the more you do it, the more you know your gear and everything you use within the loops (for example, FX-pedals). But the whole system you generate and use to make sounds is 'hot as f***', and each little thing you do has a direct effect, making it very difficult to control. Sure, I hear you think, 'but it makes noise, and that's what I want' and yes. If that's what you want: true. But to CONTROL the noise, now THAT is difficult. And Toshimaru proves with these recordings - particularly in tracks "NIMB #3" and "NIMB #4" - that he is in complete control of his sound. Subtle when even really harsh, wow. The first tracks show a harsher approach, which is a bit more 'in your face' (more sudden changes, a bit more harshness, noisier), but this is a master at work. The CD screams those words—a very nice release.
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