This double live album is another impressive release from Keiji Haino. For this concert he was joined by Sitaar Tah! (a twenty strong sitar orchestra) and a throat singer by the name of Fuyuki Yamakawa. It’s as good as it sounds.
Animamima is, as expected, mainly a drone with Haino adding to the foundation of sitars with his hurdy gurdy, sruthi-box and tanbur (all electric). He also solos over the many drones on a flute. For the first half hour it all sounds very beautiful. Haino uses a limited amount of effects (mainly delay and echo) on his instruments to build up a powerful sound. The hurdy gurdy is overwhelming at times, when Haino is in full swing on it the music becomes so dense it is almost a singularity. The addition of Yamakawa adds to this density. His deep chants sound like they are coming from another dimension; subtle changes in his voice make it sound like he’s being tuned in from a great distance away.
As the performance progresses it becomes more dissonant and chaotic. Towards the end of the first disc, Sitaar Tah! play as if their lives depended on it: the sitars are plucked franticly and the previously pleasant mood becomes urgent and disorientating. Haino begins to wail and it sounds absolutely haunting. There is a slight amount of distortion that could be from the recording or direct from Haino’s mic that adds to the effect. The end of the first disc brings me to my only major criticism of Animamima which is that it’s a shame that the concert is split across two discs. I know this can’t be helped given the limitations of CDs but it does interrupt the flow of the performance.
The second disc is noisier than the preceding disc. The hurdy gurdy returns with Haino playing as high as he can (aided by a pitch shifter from the sounds of things). The shriek cuts through the music and my ears like a rusty blade. It’s hard to hear let alone concentrate on anything else. This assault dominates the first half of the disc and Sitaar Tah! have a tough time making themselves heard over Haino. It sounds splendid and acts as a worthy counterpoint to the first half of the performance. The second half of the disc returns to the blissful drones of the first disc as Haino steps back and allows Sitaar Tah! to have more space.
I can’t finish this review without mentioning Stephen O’Malley’s gorgeous design for the packaging. An intricately embossed jacket wraps around a simple booklet with a window in the front of the jacket to show a black and white picture of Haino. The inside has a beautiful blurred, black and white portrait of Sitaar Tah! in action. It’s a simple but elegant design that suits the music it accompanies. As a whole, Animamima is a great release and reconfirms my view that Haino with a selection of weird instruments (including his voice) is far more exciting than Haino with his guitar.
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