Junji Hirose

As a sax player, Junji Hirose has been a prominent figure on the free jazz/improvised music scene since the late 1970s. But he has another side: he performs on non-electronic noise instruments called SSI (self-made sound instruments), which he creates by putting together odds and ends and everyday objects. Hirose has released (on the Hitorri label) the CDs SSI-4, SSI-5 and SSI-6, which respectively document performances on the instruments of the same names. No-Instrument Air Noise, comprised of two tracks of about 20 minutes each, could be called a "special edition." In these performances, Hirose uses no odds and ends or everyday objects, but produces noise using only air compressors and microphones (2 air compressors and 1 mike on Track 1; 2 air compressors and 2 mikes on Track 2). He turns powerful bursts of compressed air directly onto the mikes to form sound. The roaring sonic gales produced by the blasts of compressed air hitting the mikes billow and rage over the white noise released by the air compressors themselves.