Afflict

About

Afflict, an ephemeral yet potent force within Japan's 1980s underground, embraced the cassette as its exclusive canvas, a decision that both defined and confined its legacy. From 1985 to 1988, this label's 13 releases became an interdisciplinary nexus, a point where sound met sculptural form through tape hiss and lo-fi textures. S·Core emerges as the label's recurring protagonist, intertwining with a spectrum of collaborators — from Biasin Stefano to Bogart — crafting immersive soundscapes that pulse with exploratory vigor. The year 1987 stands as a monumental period for Afflict, birthing projects like "Flux And Reflux" by S·Core & Trigger-B and the collaborative "A Collaboration Tape" with Merzbow. These releases navigate the liminal spaces between noise and silence, their raw edges and process-driven ethos a testament to the era's experimental fervor. "All There Is To Know About Life...." by Dikyl Brobojo in 1988 serves as a poignant coda to the label's brief yet impactful existence. Afflict's catalog is a sculptural mosaic, each tape a fractal piece of the Japanese experimental scene's broader puzzle. It was a label less concerned with mass appeal, more focused on the process and the intimate exchange of ideas through sound, captured in magnetic whispers and distortions.