01	Friends						08:54
	02	Control Tower Says, "TP-1, Break Down."						08:44
	03	White-Collar Worker VS Black Rubber Man						11:24
	04	And Then Last Ship Is Going						07:33
	05	Japanese Room (We Have No ZEN)						07:33
	06	Laughin' Photograph						08:14
	07	Forest Tipographical II						07:33

You can't speak Russian. But the reason you have slight but somehow unforgettable fear giving up learning is that you have a book written in Russian in your living room, and that the love and magic are born while you are browsing the book in some way, and that the best situation that the book looks so attractive in spite that you totally do not understand what is on the book. Completely fascinated with the book, you become reading it everyday without missing skipping words with unusual persistence.
In a year, you don't read any other books than that. In another five month, you do nothing but reading this book besides eating and sleeping. Without referring dictionaries and grammars, you continue reading and you have memorized the word order of the book from page 1 onwards, and memorized the stream of your own emotion corresponding with the words.

A week later you realize that something comes out on your mind. LIGHT. A short sob. After a second, you understand everything written on the book. You can read and write Russian as you like. You stand up shouting with Russian. Now you've completely mastered Russian. As you know now, this famous true story consists of two analogical factors that are too much coincide with the liner notes. The one is the birth of madness and false-science (false-language in this case). All music theories, music histories and liner notes are false-science. And the other is relationship between recorded CDs and listeners that often happens. For Akira Minakami its his "Our Cutie Prank Z" and "the living room dominated by African continent" for Akira Sotoyama. And It's your turn. You, who are going to listen to this CD now, definitely belong to the people between 'the one falling in love' and 'the one who speaks Russian.' If you need dictionary, got to the Internet. The spell Hiroaki Mizutani utters is.... "http://www.imasy.or.jp/"mizutani/tipo.html".
I will give a title for the one who sings in Russian. To the one who is fascinated with betrayal out of jealousy or hatred, Osamu Matsumoto will give a shot on your forehead with his gold slide. When you finally talk to us with perfect Russian, Tsuneo Imahori will get his fingers off the guitar fret and holds your hand. Then we will dedicate our play to the one who shed tears thinking it as rapture, and to the one who get sexual excitement thinking it as love affair. God, who's fed up with imitation and sampling, takes off his headphone and shouts, "I CAN'T DANCE WITH THIS!"

Our name is TIPOGRAPHICA. Unfortunately, it's Italian.
Naruyoshi KIKUCHI





Tipographica "God says I can't dance" 1996



Members:
guitar: Tsuneo Imahori
drum: Akira Sotoyama
bass: Hiroaki Mizutani
keyboard: Akira Minakami
sax: Naruyoshi Kikuchi
trombone: Osamu Matsumoto
Guest musician mokkin: Kazuto Shimizu

Tracks:
FRIENDS
CONTROL TOWER SEYS, "TP-1, BREAK DOWN"
WHITE-COLLAR VS BLACK RUBBER MAN
AND THEN LAST SHIP IS GOING
JAPANESE ROOM (WE HAVE NO ZEN)
LAUGHIN' PHOTOGRAPH
FOREST TIPOGRAPHICAL II

Илья Прутов: Пожалуй, про этот альбом очень много не напишешь - его именно надо слышать, это настолько живая, энергичная, мощная и веселая музыка, что любое описание, увы, окажется несостоятельным. Цунео Имахори - замечательный гитарист и потрясающий композитор. Итак, Tipographica играет мощную смесь джаз-рока и RIO...того самого RIO, образца Henry Cow. Но если у Henry Cow юмора не столь много, настроение музыки довольно мрачное и пессимистичное, то музыка Tipographica буквально пропитана юмором и сдобрена хорошей порцией хулиганства! Вполне джаз-роковая гитара, саксофон, тромбон - добавлю, что наличие духовых здесь абсолютно не раздражает, они как раз добавляют очарования и не звучат излишне резко и хамовато. Но ритм-секция.....о, вот тут-то все и начинается! Во первых, почти невозможно определить размер композиций - он все время меняется, меняется причудливо и непредсказуемо. Во вторых - партии бас-гитары и ударных приводят любителей "традиционной" музыки в состояние легкого шока, как и вступления композиций, полные, с точки зрения любителей тухлой попсы, дикого издевательства над инструментами. Для любителей музыки Фрэнка Заппы Tipographica будет, пожалуй в самый раз - есть что-то общее между ними, несомненно есть. Только Tipographica - абсолютно инструментальная группа, вокальных партий нет...если честно - то это очень даже хорошо! :-) Добавлю также, что звучание группы на редкость мощное и тяжелое, хоть и не настолько, как у их соотечественников Happy Family. И, в отличие от Happy Family, у Tipographica начисто отсутствует агрессивность - это очень добрая и жизнеутверждающая музыка, без самурайских штучек. Самое интересное - то, что группа начинала с...Industrial(!) - и вдруг такой поворот в сторону...в сторону музыки, чего же еще? :-) При всех хулиганских выходках техника игры музыкантов абсолютно безупречна, придраться абсолютно не к чему.

Оценка: 10 из 10!






Tipographica [Japan]
Updated 4/10/01
Discography
Tipographica (93)
The Man Who Does Not Nod (95)
God Says I Can't Dance (96)
Floating Opera (97)


Reviews

He-he, neoproggies and sympho-only crowd, stop reading here. This is one of bands which defined the word "difficult" in prog. Beside Hoyry-Kone, Doctor Nerve and Blast, this is the most advanced band of the 90's. Their sound is one hell to describe, but I'm insane enough to try. Taking Frank Zappa in his orchestrated-fusion era (Waka Jawaka, etc.), adding to that Henry Cow circa LegEnd and/or Western Culture and Hatfieldish stylings, all three mixed extremely well plus John Zorn-ish free-jazz excesses and unique Tipo-twist, everything may result in a taboon-like concoction for adorers of eighties period John Wetton.

Band is actually a sextet of crazy Japanese', who spit laser bullets with guitars, keyboards, saxes, bass, drums and trombone (yep). Although the band has rather accessible sound basis, they succeeded in upgrading it with different rhythm approach and perhaps made four albums of the most complex progressive music available.

The band is at home in contrarhythms, actually they can play and they ARE playing poli-contra-rhythmically, and they do that very intense, with splashes (Coltrane on 45 or higher) of notes on the edge of discernibility and very quickly (Tempo in average between 120 and 150). The use of demi-semi-quavers (1/32 of a notes) is here at the utmost(for ears). In comparison with that much of RIO, New Music and contemorary classical sound rather light. They like extended tracks. 7'+ and 8'+ers prevail, while almost each album contains 11+' long piece.

Eponymous debut has nice, "LegEndary" sound. This is perhaps their "easiest" and perhaps closest to upper definition. Few tracks have nice, only slightly strange riffs, which can start nesting in listener's brain after first or second listen. Everything here is made much more delicately than on LegEnd (of Henry Cow respectively). Time signatures are amoebic, changing every fourth or third bar, sometimes even each second bar. Sax (soprano or tenor) is whining or tweeting, often paired with keyboards or tuned percussion. Keyboards often imitate reeds, so together with guitar and trombone it sounds like a woodwind ensemble and somewhat closer to Hatfields or Cow (In a way, in a way!). Nothing sounds forced, although it is hella precise. It is said to be composed, but does not sound like that.

The Man Who Does Not Nod is a live recording. Recorded in various clubs in Japan, it has only two tracks from debut, others are exclusive for this recording, so it is a proper album. Album has more of a "free" feeling. It signifies a turn to so called free music. Both tracks from debut ("Naked Lunch" and "A Turf Has Disordered Gravity") are only slightly extended, while few other tracks are stark improvisation with long solos, such as "A Smell of Gunpowder and a Flavor of She". This one reminds me of ECM-school as virtuoso trombone solo appears. On track "MC-500 in a Zen Room" contempo classical overtones can be heard. This track reminds me of Varese. This album, 'though recorded live, has a bigger production and a fatter sound than debut (which production reminds me of Hatfield's debut).

Festival of lopsided rhythms, yeah, so it could be called Tipo's no.3, God Says I Can't Dance. How spasmodic it would be, if one would decided to dance on such music. Well, I can imagine. After first few listens rhythm sounded to be quite separated from "tuned" side of the song structure. The band has added various japanese and non-japanese ethnic instruments from different parts of the world (djembe, etc.). If you can imagine how it would sound shrinked, cut-off and completely serrated music, then this is it. Brilliant and as inaccessible as one may think. After additional listens (5 until now) some patterns started to uncover themselves. I guess that after listen no.30 I'll get as much as clear picture of music on this album. Stunning!!!

With Floating Opera, band continued somewhat "easier", though this word still encapsulates pretty different meaning from usual one. This album is done more on the electronic side, prevalent instrument are keyboards. Beside very long tracks here are also four miniatures, inspired by the date and weather. Be it sunny, rainy, snowy or only cloudly, everything was written down in notes and other signatures and excellently describes conditions of Japan climate (ha-ha).

The music of Tipos (that's how I call 'em) is extremely demanding, but I like this band because I know that I'll found something new even after 57th "go-through". Few years ago band ceased to exist. Some members continued in a band Low Blow, but I don't know if this is permanent. Well, if you like exploring the progressive music, sooner or later you'll have to meet them and acquire their Canterbury inspired New Music. Essential!!!!! -- Nenad Kobal


Links
[See Low Blow]

Click here http://www.imasy.or.jp/~mizutani/files_e/tipo.html for Tipographica's web site (in English)



Homepage

Drums - Akira Sotoyama
Guitar, composer - Tsuneo Imahori
Bass - Hiroaki Mizutani
Trombone - Osamu Matsumoto
Saxophone - Naruyoshi Kikuchi
Keyboards - Akira Minakami

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Profile of TIPOGRAPHICA

In 1986 Tsuneo Imahori, guitarist and leader of the band, and Naruyoshi Kikuchi, the saxophonist,met at a music school and formed TIPOGRAPHICA with Akira Minakami. These three members still remain in the band, and at that time they played together with other members, a drummer and a bassist. Originally, the band interpreted the musicality of Fred Frith's MASSACRE and GOLDEN PALOMINOS as the antithesis of free jazz at that time, defining as their key theme "collapse," which emphasizes the prosess of degradation. The band was influenced by industrial music, and at that time had a high degree of noise, a trend quite different from now. However, their improvisation with the simple theme of "collapse" played repeatedly was not satisfactory, because of its feeling of dangerous tention. As the number of players grew there was insufficient development, and the music was hardly expressed clearly. In 1989, the drummer Akira Sotoyama, joined the band. In the same year, Imahori toured countries in Africa, where he encountered many different styles of music that have a "dialect." He found the dialect in music is due to language and other ethnic traits, so he became convinced that there should be a unique way for Japanese to "speak," creating a clear border line of exoticism of popular ethnic music. After the African tour, their musical nature was renewed and they put the spotlight on a field that had been hidden until that time. With a certain "dialect and beat," they were able to expand their range of musical expression through the fine devision of notes. Gradually, their works became imbued with a special "dialect and sway" based on the natural feelings of the composer. Then, with musical notation they contained "collapse," their first theme, and their music came to have a more developed construction. Their music, in which improvisation has taken on a noticeable form, has thus come this far. Sotoyama joining the band made these changes possible. Osamu Matsumoto, the trombone player, joined in 1991, and Hiroaki Mizutani, the bassist, came into the band in 1995. Their current musical nature is completely original, with rhythm and melody influenced by various dialects in a distinct score evincing a form where the band members climax with an overwhelming groove and high digree of composition, and where elements of contemporary music, humor and new sound language, and "dialect and sway" are intriguingly mixed.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Albums in which TIPOGRAPHICA appear
Artist Title
Tipographica Floating Opera '97 MONSWAY {SICD-1}
TIPOGRAPHICA God says I can't Dance '96 {MONSWAY PCCR-00204}
TIPOGRAPHICA The Man Who Dose Not Nod '95 {MONSWAY PCCR-00181}
TIPOGRAPHICA tipographica '93 {GOD MOUNTAIN GMCD-005}
KEIHIN KYODAISHA Omnibus Empty promises '91 {KBS#501}
WAVE Omnibus Drive to Heaven '89 {WAVE EVA-2010}

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

INFOMATION


3rd alubum

Tipographica
"God says I can't dance"

CD : PCCR-00240
2,700 YEN (tax in)
"God says I can't dance"
1. FRIENDS
2. CONTROL TOWER SEYS, "TP-1, BREAK DOWN"
3. WHITE-COLLAR VS BLACK RUBBER MAN
4. AND THEN LAST SHIP IS GOING
5. JAPANESE ROOM (WE HAVE NO ZEN)
6. LAUGHIN' PHOTOGRAPH
7. FOREST TIPOGRAPHICAL II


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
guitar Tsuneo Imahori
drum Akira Sotoyama
bass Hiroaki Mizutani
keyboard Akira Minakami
sax Naruyoshi Kikuchi
trombone Osamu Matsumoto
Guest musician
mokkin Kazuto Shimizu



Tsuneo IMAHORI Profile
Born in 1962. He has played acoustic guitar since the age of 12. He was obsessed with BRITISH TRAD such as BERT JANSCH. This influence is still evident. He was also influenced by F. ZAPPA and A. PARTRIDGE. He studied music theory from MASAHIKO SATO and TAKASHI KAKO. His band, TIPOGRAPHICA, formed in 1986, carries out activities centering around the theme of dialect and sway. In addition, he has jointly performed, composed with JOHN ZORN, TOM CORA, and FRED FRITH, etc. He is active both inside and outside Japan.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Albums in which Tipographica appear
Artist Tittle
WAVE Omnibus Drive to Heaven '89 WAVE EVA-2010
KEIHIN KYODAISHA Omnibus Empty Promises '91 KBS#501
Tipographica Tipographica '93 GODMOUNTAIN GMCD-005
Tipographica The man who does not nod '95 MONSWAY PCCR- 00181
Tipographica God says I can't Dance '96 Spring

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Other Albums in which Tsuneo Imahori Performs
Artist Tittle
Third Person Trick Moon '90 Tu Ki No Uso TU-001
Tenko At the top of Mt.Brokcken '93 Sound Factory SF-CD004
Tenko Dragon Blue '93 Rec Rec RecRec-48

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Akira SOTOYAMA (Drums)
Born on January 15, 1962. Started to play the drums from the age of 16. He continued performing in Miyazaki. When he was 21years old he moved his activities to Tokyo. He has jointly performed with many artists in live performances such as Terumasa Hino, Sadao Watanabe, Naoya Matsuoka, and Paul Jackson, and others.



Akira MINAKAMI (Keyboards)
Born on May 26, 1966. He started classical piano when he was two years old under the supervision of his mother who was a piano teacher. He started jazz piano at the age of 14, and he joined his older brother's jazz band. Later, he studied under Aki Takase, the jazz pianist He played with the SUZUKI KENJI BAND from 1985 to 1987 and he was active as an original member of TOKYO SHONEN from 1988 to 1991. After this band disbanded he participated in live perfomances and recordings for HEAVEN. He is also active in his own group MARIA'S FUNK.


Naruyoshi KIKUCHI (Sax)
Born on June 14, 1963. He started playing the bassoon in his high school years, and he started studying the saxophone at music school. He studied with Masahiko Sato, and Takeshi Ito. In the same school he met up with Tsuneo Imahori and they formed TIPOGRAPHICA. Besides participating in live performances and recordings Yosuke Yamashita, and URBAN SAX, he plays with his trio & SPANK HAPPY. In addition, he is active, not only as a musician, but as a horn arranger.


Osamu MATSUMOTO (Trombone)
Born on February 25, 1957. Started playing the trombone when he was 14 years old. When a junior in the Musashino School of Music, he experienced a European tour as a member of an oruchestra. Later, he started to focus on jazz and he played in big bands. Through these experiences he became a freelance musician. He has jointly performed with groups formed by Yosuke Yamashita, Geoge Russell, and Masahiko Sato. Currently, he is active as a studio musician and arranger. He performs live starting with his own band BIG STRESS.