KIKAGAKU MOYO
Stone Garden

This is not a review of the album

Joking aside, in 2017 they've already made a world and a half tour. Small clubs, sure, but the requests are increasing and with them the unanimous consent.

They are Kikagaku Moyo, a Japanese band; a little cult from the Land of the Rising Sun. A particular lineup, with a sitar improvising on psycho-folk tracks, equally improvised.
So far, so good. I literally wore out House in the tall grass and I expected to do the same with the EP Stone Garden, released in April, with decoupage-style artwork created by a Latvian (or Estonian, I don’t know?) artist. I bought the vinyl from the bandcamp page and from there, an oblivion, occasionally interrupted by a facebook status from Guru Guru Brain Records apologizing for the delay, citing situations so paradoxical, grotesque, and disturbing that a Fassbinder film in comparison is like Pierino.

No problem. Is my EP being eaten by mice in some unspecified warehouse in the Czech Republic? Was it lost? Has someone, somewhere in the world, thought “Now I'm going to swipe the Kikagaku Moyo records?” And why not.

Like the producer of Philosophy of the world who ran off with 900 copies of The Shaggs' album. Maybe even today there are those who believe that tomorrow, the next Frank Zappa, then a Thurston Moore wakes up, and some limited edition vinyl by Kikagaku Moyo becomes a collectible item, especially if only about twenty people have received it. Now, not to be classist, but a Czech shipping clerk who tampers with a package containing the EPs of four Japanese long-haired guys and pockets them sounds a bit off.

. Of course, the vinyl also included the digital download that I haven’t listened to yet and never will, just to create a sort of self-inflicted narrative, I agree. It’s more dedicated to all those who have experienced this unpleasant inconvenience (I don’t know how many Italians, and then the copies were really very limited).

And so? Who do you blame? Those nice, well-mannered Japanese, so sorry for what happened that they might promise in their next status to harm themselves with stereotypical practices of a certain Japanese culture?

Do you blame the carelessness with which bandcamp does not act as a guarantor and responsible for shipments? Months before, a Gnoomes album arrived (without a tracking code), with a broken cover and in the exchange of emails with the Rocket Recording manager for a return (at my expense, I imagine), weeks were passing by.

In the meantime, I’ve purchased several vinyls from Amazon, like Les Revenants by Mogwai, which arrived with a defect on the support. The very next day, a courier came to pick up the return, and the day after, I had the new copy at home. All without spending an extra euro.

Perhaps it is time for these small record labels to abandon their beloved bandcamp and position themselves better on Amazon, immediately granting them the exclusive rights to limited edition productions. Then someone will explain to me why they prefer to prioritize their own bandcamp page. There might be reasons unknown to me, but I don’t really care.

The moral of the sad tale is that the much-maligned Amazon - and here comes the rant on powerful interests, etc. - wins hands down.

In a historical period where online purchases are skyrocketing, certain “glitches” are downright unacceptable. Then, having “donated” 30 euros to Kikagaku Moyo to support their valid work is not a problem, just as it will not be difficult for me to avoid controversy and mortification towards them, whose only fault is to insist on planting seeds in fascinating and yet unreliable, dodgy situations that offer no guarantees to the consumer. This seems like the most important thing, especially when you later discover that the album in question is available on Amazon (41 euros), and has been available on reliable stores like Hhv, both with guaranteed returns. Before purchasing via bandcamp (also considering that with all the shipping costs you spend a fortune), I will think twice. Actually, there is nothing to think about.