cowfish plus vermilion (split)
[2005, shasha]

torturing nurse are a performance based-noise group out of shanghai, china. originally started in 2004 by misuzu and junky, who were both members of the no-wave/noise rock outfit junkyard. the group now includes youki and miriam, whom i believe are involved more in the live aspects of the group. tn are at their core a noise group, but i'd say that their current music utilizes elements of their previous band in creating their sound. junky is also in the electro noise group jedung kying, who create their compositions by transferring pieces of music back and forth over the internet.

tim oliveira's stimbox, is definitely one of the more prominent names in the american noise scene. in addition to having his own record label, hebi like a snake, he co-operates the harsh noise label with fellow musician xome. harsh noise not only puts out great releases, but it is also a valuable resource for noise equipment. (side note: did anyone else see the pitiful review for stimbox's 12-01-2005 cd-r on tiny mixtapes? critizing noise for being..too loud? okee doke.)

cowfish plus vermilion is four tracks, two by each artist, and has a running time of an hour and seven minutes. each artist contributes one live track, as well as a studio one. it was put out by torturing nurse's shasha imprint.

torturing nurse are first and their track exclusive starts off with distorted, shouted, vocals that work as a nice intro before going into noise mode about two minutes in. i really wouldn't consider it to be anything that harsh (especially compared to some of their other work), it's actually kinda nice. beneath the noise, there's some atonal guitar playing, and the feedback from that ties in really nicely with the layers of noise and makes me kinda zone out, but in a good way. stimbox's beautifully noisy stimulating her box is next, and it's just an all-around great track. it's twenty minute length is a bit daunting, but tim keeps it dynamic for nearly the whole way before it switches gears during the remaining six minutes. as far as noise goes, there's not very many times when i can single out one piece of noise as being something that i'd want to listen to more than any other (usually they're best taken in as a whole), but this changes that. great track. torturing nurse follow-up with xyz, and it has a different feel to it than the first track. moving out of harsher territory, it's puncuated by moments of feedback, then it starts moving into a sound that's more rock-based with drums and guitar for the last half of it before bowing out in a squall of feedback. my favorite thing about hearing live noise tracks is at the end when you can hear the six people in attendance clapping. stimbox's live track @ +terminal+ 09/04/2005 ends the disc, and it too is quite a bit different than it's predecessor. it's a more subdued piece and while it still has noisy elements, there's a sparseness here that makes it easier to take in.

i'd have to say that this was a great release by both parties. interesting, not very harsh and it's still been a rewarding listen even after repeat plays. what more could you ask for?

i don't know if you've noticed, but there doesn't really seem to be a whole lot of experimental music coming from china. noise musicians torturing nurse and ronez (who runs the doufu label) really seem to be at the forefront of their movement. hopefully they'll be able to bring more recognition to their music scene by making bigger names for themselves. a release like this certainly helps the cause. check out chinese new ear for more info what's going on, musically, in china.

Torturing Nurse Exclusive Excerpt (from 8:39 to 13:22)
Stimbox Stimulating Her Box Excerpt (from 10:11 to 14:40)