Thrilled to present a vital catharsis of a set from London-based Chinese duo, Oishi! The release follows hot on the heels of 'ale… plane' on nagrania records and ‘once upon a time there was a mountain’ on the Bezirk label, at whose label showcase night this set was recorded.

Blurring the lines between analogue and digital, human and machine, the pair draw on a range of noise sources whose balance is seemingly always in flux. At times a caustic barrage of sound, at others pin-drop intimate, the set spans a dizzying range from dense noise-wall to tentative acapella vocalisations. Over the course of nearly half an hour Oishi walk a landscape all their own.

From the start we’re out into unknown terrain but Oishi seem to proceed with their ears wide open and alert, with no sense of a specific destination to aim for or markers to hit, the duo instead manage to stay fully in the moment in a way which is thrillingly, vitally alive. You can hear each incremental decision being made; a pathway being carved out in real-time. In heavier hands this might end up being overly cautious or methodical, but there is a lightness of touch here which combines a genuinely experimental, experiential approach with just the right amount of humour and surreality thrown in. No po-faces here, just a joyful sonic lustration.

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Recorded by Luciano Maggiore

Mixed and mastered by Oli Barrett

Cover painting by Ren Shang

Available as 320k MP3 or 24bit FLAC

Tracklisting:

1. 23-1-23  (27.38)