Poignant, effortless electronic sounds from Japanese experimentalist
I've often asked myself the question - where would movies be without music? The most intense scene of a horror movie, for example, would be rendered useless without the relevant score to aide its tension. Similarly, would Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy strike such a chord without Howard Shore's epic soundtrack?.
It's a question that cropped up again when trying to formulate some thoughts on Cheekbone's Yesterday. Approaching this album for the first time while holidaying in the South of Spain, relaxing poolside, beer in hand watching the sunset slowly submerge the Mediterranean Sea with an intense red and orange hue, I was left wondering just how music affects scenarios in our lives. At that moment, I'd say music has the ability to influence every facet of our make-up. Perhaps it was the beautiful scenery, the light beach breeze or Cheekbone's dreamy electronic sounds. Maybe it was the all these factors combined, but for 25 minutes or so time seemed to stand still. Yesterday’s ethereal beauty complimented the serene atmosphere, soundtracking what was a perfect moment in my life.
The latest release from the prolific Hidden Shoal Recordings, Cheekbone is the work of Japanese experimentalist Koruichi Moriuchi, who constructs warm electronic sounds through his laptop, with one foot firmly planted in Tangerine Dream territory and the other in the sequenced guitar soundscapes of contemporary electronica. Yesterday is expertly sequenced; short soundscapes drift and merge into one another, while intricate beats, deft samples, and obscured field recordings are woven into the mix.
"Behind The Irony" is an exquisite opener full of stuttering beats, little bubbles of sound and chiming glockenspiel tones. Imagine skimming a stone across a still lake and watching the ripples in the water spread. This is the wide-reaching sound of "Behind the Irony". "Feel Thing While", on the other hand, incorporates velvet synths that seem to melt around an echoic vocal sample and fragile, glacial tones. Creating a weightless feeling similar to that of My Bloody Valentine's Isn't Anything, Moriuchi builds this track into a ball of abstract sound.
"Reef", meanwhile, points to the work of Austrian guitarist Christian Fennesz with Moriuchi again building a wall of sound, merging a tremolo melody with hazy synth/guitar work, while weaving a slightly disconcerting sample throughout. "Far" is undoubtedly Yesterday's darkest piece, combining spluttering electronics with spidery sound effects that seem to crawl from the speakers.
Although it is not as instant as labelmate Slow Dancing Society's recent The Sound of Light When Dim album, Yesterday acts as a poignant snapshot of nostalgic (and often forgotten) memories amidst the hustle and bustle of everyday life. It's avant-garde yet accessible; it's electronic yet shares little in common with scene stalwarts like Aphex Twin and Autechre. And did I mention it is the perfect soundtrack for a lazy summer afternoon, relaxing next to the Mediterranean Sea?
| Reviewer: Michael Henaghan Added: September 11th 2007 |
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