Cult Junk Cafe is another improvisational band playing under the influence of John Zorn's Cobra, a musical composition that randomly prompts a band to follow musical instructions via cue cards. Like Michael and Brent's group Pencilneck, Cafe follows a simplified version of Cobra where any performer could cue a change in musical direction through just hand gestures. The tape is made up of live performances made throughout early 1995.
Like any band, Cult Junk Cafe is defined by its members and instruments: Michael Hartman on drums, Yoshigami Kyota and Otani Yasuhiro on guitars, Sakamoto Kazutaku on synthesizer and founder Tsunoda Tsuguto on turntables/sampler. Brent Gutzeit (bass) and Agata (guitar) guest on certain sessions. The earliest tracks, recorded with Agata and Brent on February 3, 1995, are pure chaos from start to finish. Every instrument plays at once, seemingly all on different pages of the same book, and actively disassembling any musical idea that might cohere. The only voice that really makes itself heard over the others in these tracks is Agata's unmistakable guitar (but that might just come from familiarity.)
After two months (recording on April 3,) the group favors more cinematic and less abrasive improvisations. The songs from this set also seem to follow one musical "director." Sakamoto's synthesizers are the foundation for "Open the Gates", a more environmental sonic piece that sounds apiece with the science fiction cityscapes of the 1980s. The excellent "Improvisation (4395)" follows Tsunoda's squirrelly turntables that establish an elastic sound that coils up and releases energy throughout. In both cases, the lead guitar matches the energy of the song's "leader" to create a more cohesive and pointed template for everyone to play off of.
After two more months on May 30, Cult Junk's tracks favor a slower start. Any music, sound, concept and comedy comes less from a clash of personalities (as they did when the band first started recording) than a synthesis of them. On the tape's sprawling tracks like "Improvisation (53095)" or "Theme from the Action Theme Song", the compositions are a journey of wandering musical paths. Any member could suddenly guide the band out of one sonic direction to follow and react to their own musical leads. These shifts can be smooth or jarring but keep the tracks moving and unpredictable. Occasionally, these shifts fall flat when the rest of the band doesn't quite know what to do sonically with an idea another member is introducing. It's an easy enough trap to get out of, though, given the conceit.
According to Hartman, the hand gestures used by the band to cue a shift in musical direction became less necessary over time as improvisation improved. And it's clear from listening to this tape, a compilation of three live sets across a couple of months, that improvement goes hand in hand with trying out different ways to improvise. Of course, there is no right or wrong way about it...just what works best for any given band on any given day.
Note: Special thanks to Brent Gutzeit and Michael Hartman for answering my questions about their music and their time in Japan.
Here is the discography surrounding Cult Junk Cafe's debut tape:
Cult Junk Cafe
The Jackson Stomp (1995 compilation song from The Miracle of Levitation)
"The Jackson Stomp" by Cult Junk Cafe
Pass the Headphones!!
