Damaging Noise

Perhaps you already know Gai. If you don't, this might be a bit confusing. Gai were another noisy Kyushu hardcore band under the tutelage of fuzz punk legends, Confuse. Gai were responsible for starting the great Violent Party label that released tapes and flexi discs by Confuse and Gai, among others. At some point the members of Gai started operating under the name The Swankys and playing more '77 style punk rock. Both bands existed at the same time for a period, often playing the same songs. This, as well as many bootlegs with misinformation, only added to the entanglement of the band's history. Granted, I could be spreading more misinformation myself. As far as I can tell, Damaging Noise was Gai's debut and was first circulated throughout the Kyushu scene in 1983 on home-dubbed cassettes. Later it was a 12" vinyl. Gai, like Confuse, weren't overly concerned with musicianship or any kind of production values, just noisy, chaotic hardcore on the verge of exploding into complete white hiss. Gai, unlike Confuse, seemed to have a bit of a sense of humor at times. Both bands created a scene, a sub-genre of lower-fi racket in the already truly fucked up Japanese Hardcore universe. There is a reason people go nuts for Japanese punk and hardcore records and it starts here with Gai's Damaging Noise. For a more academic rambling on the merits of Gai, Confuse and other far eastern ear pollutants check out Shit Fi's excellent piece on the subject. In the meantime, get this.

頂戴 本