A Head Full of Wishes is a site for Galaxie 500, Luna, Damon & Naomi, Dean & Britta and Dean Wareham. With news, articles and lists of releases and past and future shows.
My record collection
[230] Damon & Naomi - Everything Quieter Than Everything Else (CD)
This is a live album that Damon & Naomi released in October 2017 for their tour of Japan. It consists of ten songs, five of each from the shows in June 2005 and January 2008 both of which were released in video form as limited edition DVDs
Obviously because I bought this on Bandcamp (with a download), and have the DVDs, I never got around to taking it out of its wrapper - which is a little sad. So… I’m doing that now to listen to it!
Shame on me for not opening it sooner - it has a lovely sleeve that folds out and has an essay by Damon & Naomi, in both English and Japanese; a short piece by Masaki Batoh, in Japanese; and the lyrics, in English. The cover picture is another of Naomi’s lovely, almost abstract photos.
Damon & Naomi shows are always exceptional so it’s lovely that they release live documents periodically!
for our Japan tours, we were able to bring the soprano sax improviser Bhob Rainey and (in 2008) cellist Helena Espvall. Together with our great friends from Ghost guitarist Michio Kurihara, and Masaki Batoh on a second acoustic guitar - this group presented our songs live in the best way we could imagine.
Damon & Naomi - Everything Quieter... sleeve notes
Masaki Batoh’s piece is mostly about the sound engineer Satoru Fujii:
I remember that I first worked with Fujii and Damon & Naomi on their Japan tour in January 2004. They were impressed by Fujii's skills and personality, and since then they have asked him to perform most of their domestic tours together, and have deepened their friendship. Unfortunately, Fujii passed away several years ago and will never return. Even now, when they meet, they always talk about Fujii and feel nostalgic for a while, jokingly saying that he must be back in his hometown of Kyoto and his soul is playing freely.
Masaki Batoh - Everything Quieter... sleeve notes (translated by Google)
Of course the other thing worth mentioning is the album’s title which takes it’s name from Deep Purple’s Made in Japan album which was recorded during their 1972 tour of Japan. At the end of Smoke on The Water Ian Gillan asks for a “bit more monitor” and then asks for “everything louder than everything else” - you can hear it at the end of this. Motorhead later also riffed on that when they released a live album called Everything Louder Than Everyone Else - so Damon & Naomi are in good company!
Did Damon & Naomi just pick it because it’s a cool title? Or additionally because the quote’s origin is from a live album recorded in Japan? Does the quote have a resonance in Japan?
Anyway after bemoaning the fact that D&N rarely play Beautiful Close Double live in the post about The Earth Is Blue, here they are playing it in Shibuya in June 2005:
- Catalogue Number: AHFOW 10/123
- Artist: Damon & Naomi
- Title: Everything Quieter Than Everything Else
- Notes: Japanese only CD release
- Packaging: Jewel case with obi strip
- Format: CD
- Bought direct from Damon & Naomi’s website back then
- Buy ‘Everything Quieter Than Everything Else’ on Bandcamp
Previously in my record collection: