Philip Gayle-Sunrise Crazy; Public Eyesore Records #162, 2025

 

Before Disaster Amnesiac even listened to Sunrise Crazy, the new recording from Japan-based composer/improvisor Philip Gayle, I most definitely appreciated the sumptuous packaging that it comes presented in. As you can see, the front cover art just has that great, Abstract Expressionist feel, and there is included a booklet which five plates of it, all from artist Okaka. Seriously, collectors of physical media may want to purchase the disc just for this. As for the music and sounds, Gayle, a long time practitioner of such, has presented a characteristically unique document of his process. Process seems to have been an important element in the production of Sunrise Crazy. If I'm ascertaining the promo sheet correctly, said process involved Philip setting up an arsenal of instruments (pictured within the booklet) and then went among them, recording pretty randomly, and not getting too hung up on any kind of linear, "set" thinking. Growth mindset within a recording studio. The resultant sounds were captured particularly well by Kanji Yokosuka; the sound capture is very clear and never muddy, always a good feature, unless you're in High Rise or something. Voices, human and possibly feline, feature prominently on the record. Vocals are at the forefront throughout the proceedings, and even when they're not high in the mix, they linger. Fascinating, the ways in which the instruments frame them. They retain a surreal quality throughout. Gayle at times sounds like an almost Traditionally-focused player on Oh Wow, but what does that even mean, especially within the context of Japanese music? Fakkunko must translate into "Free Jazz" in the language of Nippon . At other times, Disaster Amnesiac has heard drunken Bon Festival music and percussive string agitations, enhanced by the highly weird vocalizing. The highlight for this listener is Fuchan Brocken Spectre, a beautifully lush track that takes its seductive time. The listener will want to be seduced by its loveliness. Also of note is Heartbeat Shakes The Flower>Setsunai Yuk, a track reminiscent of the most delicate of Morton Feldman's sounds. Disaster Amnesiac does have to issue a kind of trigger warning: at times, I've wondered if the intensity of some of the vocal sounds would bother some listeners, especially children. Maybe play Sunrise Crazy while your kids are outside playing, or dig into it with earbuds in as you greet the rising sun, post trip.