VIDEO MAGIC- featuring:

Serph :: Vent

(video directed by Toshitaka Shinoda)

It’s no secret that Japan’s music scene has been one of the most diverse, hectic, and all around strange for years now. While having neo-classical maestros like Akira Koseumra andNoble Records label mate Yasushi Yoshida, the avant garde/art rock/noise scene over there is one of the prolific and balls out crazy in the world. Hanatarash (early project of Yamantaka Eye of Boredoms, which kind of says it right there) was one of the most destructive noise groups in the world, one time wrecking a space with a backhoe and another throwing a molotov cocktail on stage (incurring $6000 in repairs). I mean, Hella (the glory drummer Zach Hill’s baby) had to tour in Japan around the time of their inception because almost nobody in America was into it. And Japan? They loved it. But where am I going with this?

Well, Serph is the happy melding of avant-garde, minimalist dub-step, and neo-classical music, a ripe and unusual combination that speaks pretty flawlessly to my tastes. On the new album Vent (the single being the title track) Serph finds an interesting foothold in an original and ever evolving sound that is so fresh and strange that it almost has a taste and a texture, creating a nice atmospheric glow. The video seems fitting in its oddity and admiration of nature, the open spaces lending themselves to the airy string section. The sphere-cube thing is a bit of a nice touch, and that guy has the coolest cloak. When the animations being swirling around in a fantastical fervor you become lost in this strange world that feels something like Terry Gilliam’s childhood nightmares or Jacques Cousteau’s moving sketchbook. So, pick up Serph’s album Vent on Noble Records and get lost.