Lethe / Catastrophe Point #7 & #8 standard edition

Lethe / Catastrophe Point #7 & #8 　Standard Edition　 (2CD invisible birds USA) 2010

disc one - catastrophe point #7 - 50.50
sound materials recorded at arsenic: lausanne, switzerland
2004.10.21 - 11.28

disc two - catastrophe point #8 - 58.00
sound materials recorded at ex power station : edinburgh, scotland
2006.10.23 - 10.28

all compositions by lethe
photos by kuwayama kiyoharu
sleeve design by invisible birds & kuwayama kiyoharu
letterpress printing by ben owen at middle press, brooklyn
liner notes by giancarlo toniutti
liner notes written and designed by giancarlo toniutti
printed by tarrl lightowler at suspiracle press

invisible birds continues lethe's catastrophe point series with a 2cd set which includes 2 recordings in his
series, one recorded in switzerland in 2004 and the other recorded in scotland in 2006.
lethe's series take place in abandoned industrial sites, using drones, chains, an occasional instrument, objects
found in the space, but most importantly the resonant qualities of the space.
the wire magazine explained this series "the music sounds like it's taking place in a vast, pitch black aircraft
hangar of the soul".
yannick dauby said ""these are kiyoharu's obsessive abstractions dealing with physical substance and volume".
the packaging for this release was done in collaboration with kiyoharu kuwayama and letterpress printer ben owen
with the hope of achieving something that reflects the beauty and intensity of the work.

inside

liner notes by giancarlo toniutti

http://invisiblebirds.org/

Review

LETHE - CATASTROPHE POINT #7 & #8 (2CD by Invisible Birds)
Kuwayama Kiyoharu is the man behind Lethe. Under his own name he works within the field of improvised music, playing cello and electronics, in a duo called Kuwayama-Kijima and as Lethe he creates music that deals with large spaces with lots of natural reverberation, such as abandoned warehouses, shinto temples, mausoleums and factories. These works are called 'Catastrophe Point' and on this double CD we find two of them. One (from 2004) was recorded at Arsenic in Lausanne, Switzerland and the other at an ex-power station in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 2006. Inside such spaces, Kuwayama goes about to record the empty space, picking up large reverberations with the tiniest of sound information. Found metal is being scraped, hit and dragged across the floor. Now that may seem like a 'heavy' thing, but if you listen to these pieces, there is a great sense of 'emptiness' in these recordings. It stays far away, like being removed far away from the microphone(s). I suspect he picks up his 'action' with various microphones and then mixes these together when it comes to releasing such works. Its hard to say (and no doubt not really necessary) what this is, this music of Lethe. Ambient? Perhaps, but not as we commonly know it. Experimental? Surely. Action music, performance art? No doubt that's true as well. You could wonder why two discs. There are some interesting differences between both works. The Scotland work is very sparse: an empty space, a few sounds (in all three tracks). The Switzerland piece has some sort of drone/alarm/buzz going on, with lots of more activity. Towards the end of the first part, the space around is removed and we have a very clear picture of all sorts of acoustic activity going on. In the second part a 'clear' piano pops up. Maybe we have to keep the time frame in mind: in 2004 Lethe was perhaps more focussed on 'music' in a big space, whereas in 2006 he was more interested in the space itself. I am not entirely sure. Of the two 'Catastrophe #7' would count as the more musical one, whereas 'Catastrophe #8' would count as a piece of sound art. For either drone lovers, improvised music fans and art goers, there is something for everyone in this quite unique sound world of Lethe.
(Vital Weekly 744 - frans de waard )

LETHE - CATASTROPHE POINT #7 & #8 (2CD by Invisible Birds)
"Catastrophe Point 7 & 8" is a haunting, eerier, original and subdued noisy mixture of: industrial like field recordings, drones and the odd dab of minimalist piano patterning and texturing. The Lethe project is all the work of Japanese sound artists, subtle improviser and uneasy mood-setter Kuwayama Kiyoharu. The project� has been in existence since� the late 1990's, and it certainly has a�very distinctive, detailed yet unequal feel to it's sonic unfold.
First off it's worth mentioning the rather stark, grim yet oddly beautiful letter press & handmade 3 panel black card sleeve that the two CD's come in. The cover features a rather cryptic picture of a single stone half in light and half in darkness on the cover, inside the sleeve are inversed or solarised pictures of the inside of an abandoned factory. And in the middle pocket of the sleeve�is a single sheet of white A4� that offers a� rather pretentious and highbrow description of the projects intentions( but don't let this put you off!).
This two disc set offers up two lengthy twenty plus minute tracks on the first disc, and three tracks on the second disc which fall between just over the thirteen and twenty minute mark a piece. Each disc is also themed around one site where field records are made/created by the environment around Kiyoharu. The first disc features the two tracks of� Catastrophe Point 7, and was recorded in a contemporary theatre space rather grimly called Arsenic in Lausanne, Switzerland. And the second disc features the three� tracks that make up�Catastrophe Point 7, and this was recorded in an abandoned power station in Scotland.
Each of the five pieces finds Kiyoharu creating a very captivating and detailed, yet often subdued and spaced-out sound map that takes in: echoed walking, pipe clunking and dragging, all manner of sawing, banging and cluttering, glass breaking and debis pulling apart,� eerier and harmonic drone textures, and the odd touch of doomy or tinkling piano minimalism. Kiyoharu then arrangers these elements into semi rhythmic or structured� patterns that sometimes flit with harmonic detail. All the tracks are very loose yet precise making sure there's space to hear and appreciate each element, yet it also keeps some kind of structure and progression in place too.
I guess it's quite difficult to really define what this is as it sits between being an: field recording album, an natural ambient album, a subtle improvised album, and a minimalist compositions album- and I guess that's what makes this so rewarding, intriguing and original. So if your after something that rather blurs the lines between subtle noise, found sound and ambience this is a must have item!　　
Multi-Genre Music Magazine / Roger Batty