INCAPACITANTS LP

It’s a great moment for reissues of ambitious, historical gestures of the noise from Japan. One after the other, these artifacts have emerged from the shadows, entirely rewriting what so many of us thought we knew. Now, at long last, before us rest another piece in the puzzle – the first ever release of one of the most sought-after artifacts from the 80s noise scene – Incapacitants‘ first cassette, recorded in 1981 by Toshiji Mikawa and never been released until now, reemerging in a new fully remastered edition by Andrea Marutti on vinyl format.
Few projects can claim the seminal importance of the Incapacitants on worldwide noise scene. The group was formed in 1981 in Osaka, as the solo project of Toshiji Mikawa, a member of the amazing noise group Hijokaidan. Later Mikawa moved to Tokyo, where he joined with Fumio Kosakai, also an occasional member of Hijokaidan, as well as a former member of C.C.C.C., to make Incapacitants a duo. They’ve been making some of the most unremittingly ear-shattering racket for decades as Incapacitants, one of the most significant noise outfits to emerge from the groundbreaking Japanese scene in the early 1980s, and still one of the most radical and powerful. They’ve consistently been responsible for some of the most complex, chaotic, loud, and downright fun releases in the genre.
The cassette consists of a long track on side A titled Fulfilled Promise that starts slowly and gradually transforms into a crackling volcano and then comes the bursts and the outflow of lava, always controlled. While side B is a collection of small noise gem, furrows that precede the intensity and the noisy purity that will characterize all the production of the Incapacitants, titled Plague. The two sides of the tape are very different from each other, but they contain the same exciting, terrifying, hypnotic and fascinating soul – there’s very little air to breathe here!

‘’Listening to such artless performances and recordings is a bit embarrassing but, at the risk of flattering myself, I think it has some degree of interest. It’s from almost forty years ago, but I hope you’ll enjoy the very first recordings under the name Incapacitants.’’ translated from Japanese liner notes by Toshiji Mikawa.

The vinyl edition faithfully reproduces the order and duration of the tracks recorded on tape and is released in just 299 copies with 12” size insert. Includes extensive notes by Toshiji Mikawa in Japanese with translation by Kato David Hopkins in English. It’s a must-have not only for Incapacitants fans!