Nord

Nord are one of the petri dishes upon which Japanese noise began to evolve. Obviously, you can trace it's origins much further back through many electronic, psych and experimental channels. Frankly you can make a case for various attitudinal and oppositional roots and the generational split that created such a schism in the Japanese psyche. The generation that grew up following the post-war new reality that rejected much of their forebears assumptions and were determined to recreate a new external and internal reality. Nothing comes fresh born out of a clear blue sky.

Anyway. Nord are almost the stuff of legend. You hear of them but never see anything by them. They also have a rather convoluted history so take the following as my best available distillation.

Initially, Nord were the duo of Hiroshi Oikawa and Satoshi Katayama and played together between 1979 and 1983. As far as I am aware, the only recorded output was the self-titled LP on Pinakotheca in 1981. When they parted company, both artists retained the name "Nord". It would appear that Hiroshi Oikawa focussed on recorded output rather than any live performances whilst Satoshi Katayama concentrated on live performances. From the mid-late '80s Hiroshi Oikawa retired to private life and his association with Nord ended. Subsequent recordings are led by Satoshi Katayama. Initially, he was joined by Makoto Ito, who left in 2003. Between 2003 and 2006 he was joined by Hiroshi Hasegawa (perhaps better known to you as Astro). As far as my limited knowledge goes, this incarnation only physically produced the Abstract Moon cdr (sorry...I don't have that...I would have already posted it if I did). Post 2006, Nord is only associated with Satoshi Katayama but I am unaware of any recorded output for this era.

Caveat Number 1: The early '80s recordings sound quite dated. This does not surprise me given the tech that was available at the time and the distance and directions that their inheritors have travelled since.

Caveat Number 2: I have found two totally different "versions" that have been tagged as the LSD LP. The clincher in my mind is the Ego Trip LP. It is a very clear rip with the tracks split and probably comes from the "unofficial" (i.e., bootleg) repress on PCP Records in 2008. Therefore the "2nd version" must be the actual LSD LP. I've spent a long time weighing this one up and have managed to convince myself that I am right. Mind you, I do this frequently with often disasterous results so feel free to think otherwise.



Nord lp [pinakotheca, 1981]



LSD lp [lsd records, 1984]



Ego Trip lp [lsd records, 1985]



Electronic Initiation [kinky music institute, 1999]