Solo CD from Keiji Haino features four long nocturnal pieces spontaneously scored for tabletop electronics, F/X pedals, ‘air-FX’ and ‘digital air theremin’. This is the most electronics-heavy Haino disc to date and much of it bears comparison to his early Milky Way recording, with moments of torrential digital downpour illuminated by flares of fluttering code, wild frequency fluctuations and skies of shortwave bloop. Some absolutely mangled vocals worked deep into the maul and also some kind of wind instrument that makes the last piece sound like an exorcism in a nuclear bunker. As necessary as every other Haino side. Comes in a black hard-card Fushitsusha-style gatefold with colour pics and a 4 page booklet featuring pics and Japanese text.

Very intimate, low-level guitar/loops/vocal recordings from Keiji Haino featuring some of his most hypnotic and personally intense solo playing, all recorded live in the depths of the night at minimum volume. An absolute beauty that ranks alongside classics like Affection and Era Of Sad Wings, this is Haino at his most elegiac and haunting. Comes in large format, gatefold digipak. Highest recommendation.

Another necessary volume in this on-going series documenting current activity on Tokyo's psychedelic underground, this one features exclusive tracks by Keiji Haino, Broom Dusters (featuring members of Miminokoto/LSD-March), Musica Transonic, Puka-Puka Brians (members of Maher Shalal Hash Baz/Aihiyo), On-Na Kodomo, Shizuka, Akiyama-Sugimoto, High Rise, Kakashi, Construction, Psychedelic Crazy Horse and Hikyo String Quintet.

A compilation that culls tracks from a series of ‘lecture concerts' that took place between September 2003 and February 2004 at Mesar Haus, Tokyo. Kicks off with a fantastically dense hurdy-gurdy drone from Keiji Haino and also features tracks from guitarist Kazuo Imai, pianist Junichiro Okuchi, shamisen master Michihiro Sato, turntablist Otomo Yoshihide and saxophonist Masayoshi Urabe.

Another one of those chronologically-upending archival Haino finds that makes the birth of his whole aesthetic seem historically immaculate, Free Rock - recorded in 1982! - sees Haino on electric guitar playing zoned avant garage crank in the company of some of the most legendary avant-provocateurs to come out of the ranks of the Los Angeles Free Music Society: Dennis Duck (ds), Fredrik Nilsen (b), Tom Recchion (mock cello, strangaphone) and Rick Potts (g). Post-Ubu Heart Of Darkness No Wave never sounded so completely liberated.

Nicely presented/compiled art book, put together by Lawrence English with contributions from a head-spinning range of artists on the subject of ‘dead silence’: ranging across art, text, essays, letters and photography with contributions from musicians/artists/writers such as Keiji Haino (who discusses the meaning of ‘Seijaku’), Liz Harris aka Grouper, Alan Licht, Makino Takashi, Jamie Stewart, Marina Rosenfeld, James Webb, Benoit Pioulard, Steve Roden, Eugene Carchesio, Terre Thaemliz, Sandra Selig, Jack Sargeant, Philip Samartzis, Greg Hainge, Ross Manning (Sky Needle), David Toop and Heiko Muller.