R. Pinhas / Merzbow - Coda [Bam Balam Records 095]

Released in CD format via the long standing French imprint Bam Balam Records on October 8th, 2k22 with a vinyl edition to follow up in April of 2k23 supposedly is "Coda", the latest collaborational album effort by Heldon-founder and experimental music pioneer Richard Pinhas and Masami Akita a.k.a. Merzbow, the undisputed leading figure of the Japanoize movement. Over the course of two extended cuts, "Coda" and the subsequent "PostCoda", and a total playtime of roughly 42 minutes the duo, backed by sonic contributions from artists like Oren Ambarchi, Florian Tatard and Senza Testa, sets out to explore an extremely dramatic, yet astoundingly harmonic variation of Noize, shaped by glistening, widescreen cinematic Cosmic x Synth harmonies which bring to mind overpowering, superhuman light installations once envisioned by Albert Speer or the tense, dystopian futurism of movies like Fritz Lang's 'Metropolis' in all its alienating glory whilst they're unfolding atop a maelstrom of amorphous, yet ever changing, twisting and re-modulating Noize to provide a well suitable and most epic soundtrack to the endgame of civilization we're facing right now whereas the second half of this longplayer provides an astoundingly innocent, almost Post-Folk-leaning and naturalistic take on Ambient Noize which one could easily imagine being in use as in-ear soundtrack for avid bird spotters and the likes of and therefore might be our favorite pick out of the two pieces to be found on this release. Highly recommended, this.