Tuesday, September 2, 2008

THE MASK OF THE IMPERIAL FAMILY-S/T, LP, 1981, JAPAN


Both profound and profoundly jaw dropping, the esoteric moves of this massively rare and insanely obscure 300 copy Japanese marvel have until now remained the sole preserve of a handful of heavyweight collectors. It's time to let the cat out of the bag on this one. The dankly cavernous and unsettling acid maneuvers of Dome circa their first three LP's (though absent vocals) are the nearest antecedent I can summon for the principal thrust of the sound here. So too, there's a ritualistic dimension to this stuff thats also a bit suggestive of something like Vasilisk or The Hybryds, though the arcane initiatory atmosphere here is far more penetrating that anything I've heard either of those two muster. Combine that with a Johan Hedran-like overlay of wafting, heat-warped systemic electronics and your at least in the general neighborhood, but these are only indicators pointing toward the occult sonic universe that The Mask Of The Imperial Family are enacting here.

Get it Here

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

this record was by sugibayashi yasuo, who would later form the group kujira. either one of these tracks or another from him from the same time is on a cd called "no shibuya" on ultravybe records...def. connections with the vanity folks....

ufo said...

very interesting description.... i will try to post after i've heard this one!
Thanks

fuzztunnel said...

...been waiting for this one for a looooong time... thanks!

Margot F. said...

This is the musick I'm always surprised could be made...thank you!

Margot

http://moonmusick.blogspot.com/

M— said...

Oh my. Very tasty. - Stefan M

friendsound.wordpress.com

Alex said...

Awesome.

http://www.demoniazed.com

Anonymous said...

Today I drank a bottle of cough syrup and listened to THE MASK OF THE IMPERIAL FAMILY! AWESOME!!!

ommyth said...

Many thanks...

TS

Anonymous said...

super cool.

Gianni aka Cesare Barbetta said...

thank you.
very strange electronic sounds.
very interesting lp.
thanks again

Anonymous said...

Finally had a chance to listen to this, and I am very impressed. Comparisons to Dome are very apt.

Thank you very much!

Anonymous said...

this is sooooo good! just wanted to say thanks a lot for sharing it!

taro nombei said...

Interesting stuff. Thanks for this.
The only link for visuals I could find was here:
http://page2.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/b91602763#enlargeimg
best from Tokyo
TN

vdoandsound said...

taro nombei-Thanks a bunch for the cover photo!

Anonymous said...

Thanks Vdoandsound, arigatou Taro Nombei.
Cheers!

Anonymous said...

Awesome stuff! I love the sound and the compilation.