Peter Brötzmann / Keiji Haino Duo: The Intellect Given Birth To Here (Eternity) Is Too Young

Forgiveness requested for referring to a lyric from Bruce Springsteen's composition "The Promised Land" to describe this duo recording by Peter Brötzmann and Keiji Haino: "There's a dark cloud rising from the desert floor/I packed my bags and I'm heading straight into the storm/Gonna be a twister to blow everything down/That ain't got the faith to stand its ground." Like a tornado, there is a powerful and captivating force about the two musicians' performance that entices you to lean face first into their superstorm.

Recorded in 2018 at Zebulon in Los Angeles and The Chapel, San Francisco, The Intellect Given Birth To Here (Eternity) Is Too Young is a reunion of sorts. The last occasion the pair recorded in a duo format was Evolving Blush Or Driving Original Sin (PSF, 1996). They have also released Shadows (DIW, 2000) with drummer Shoji Hano, the monstrous 3-CD Fushitsusha outing Nothing Changes No One Can Change Anything, I Am Ever- Changing Only You Can Change Yourself (Utech, 2014), Two City Blues (Trost, 2015) and Two City Blues 2 (Trost, 2015) with guitarist Jim O'Rourke.

The reunion of these two giants of creative music produces a surge of energy throughout the 2¾ hours of music making what could power a small village. Haino's guitar on "The Wound That Lapses Into This World Can Sometimes Be Bigger" and "Than The Wound That Was Dropped Here" delivers a wall of noise that tempts Brötzmann to muscle notes from his tenor saxophone. Haino can act as a prodding stimulus as he does with his drumming on "Begging Your Pardon, Master Sokushinbutsu." He begins not unlike a Japanese Taiko drummer, booming notes before playing a more traditional kit raining cymbal strikes. Brötzmann occasionally responds to Haino's enticement plying whirling notes, but other times he holds back, keeping his B-flat clarinet, tárogató, and tenor saxophone in reserve. The two musicians maintain a mutual respect here, neither demanding to lead nor constraining the other.

Like the storm analogy, there is much to take in here. From guitar generated noise to gentle blues riffs, pounding pulse and vocal shouts, the duo exercises to an exhaustive conclusion at both venues. The music comes as a 4 LP box (plus digital downloads) with 8 full color art prints by the artists. It was produced by Brötzmann champion Michael Ehlers and Peter Kolovos, and is a co-production between Keiji Haino's Purple Trap imprint and Black Editions.