Techno / House
493 products
romantically, otherworldly floating introspective ambient: kuniyuki takahashi, one of japan’s most prolific contemporary musicians, was always an artist for deep sensual expressions.
especially under his anonym koss he explores profound electronic ambient sounds enlarged with ingredients of house, minimal, idm and what he calls a “‘new oriental sound”, a style, that translates traces of ancient asian music traditions into modern realms.
in particular his fourth koss album “ancient rain”, released in 2008 as cd only, was an attempt to meld old melodic traditions with textural layers of modern electronic frequencies without losing a distinct human touch.
now mule musiq releases his nine compositions for the first time as a double lp, rendering his poetic, slow burning melodic drifts and rhythmical shifts into the richness of the vinyl sound. all music was produced in-depth in his very own private studio while using music making computer software, a roland system-1, jupiter-8 and the dynamic percussion synth korg wavedrum.
besides the short tune “dream (real world), that features suavely absorbing oriental harp sounds, all compositions vibrate six to ten minutes long. an epic format, that goes hand in hand with kuniyuki’s extemporaneous work ethic, in which every moment of creating gener-ates a unique unknown poetic universe.
“it's an endless continuing journey” he states and points out to what listeners will experience while wandering off in his subtle expanding layers of sounds and electronic modulations. sometimes his favorite instrument, the piano, is hanging dulcet above the frequency alterna-tions.
also restrained house grooves actuate the cautious chord progressions and environmental sounds deepen the sublime listening experience. those who dive into “ancient rain” of the reel, will experience a seamlessly shadowy ambient drift, in which every detail is given space to breathe in order to entrap heedful spirits into a preternatural never-never land beyond space and time.
The trio of Moritz von Oswald, Max Loderbauer (NSI / Sun Electric) and Sasu Ripatti (Vladislav Delay / Luomo), with a third album, this time enriched and expanded by guitar contributions from Paul St Hilaire (also known as Tikiman), and double bass courtesy of Marc Muellbauer (via ECM).
Horizontal Structures is palpably a more open, more expressive album than the previous studio recording, Vertical Ascent. There is more contrast, more light and shade. St Hilaire and Muellbauer add fresh drama and swing to the intimate tonal and rhythmic interactions of the core grouping. The coherence of the five-piece is remarkable; the boundary between acoustic and electronic undone.
The group’s evolution is firmly signalled in the opener, Structure 1. There’s a lush, romantic quality to the playing and arrangement that we’ve not heard before: the guitar licks have a bluesy lilt, the bass imparts melody as well as physical presence, the synth sequences are more painterly, looser somehow, and Ripatti’s percussion roams feelingly. Structure 2 is like 70s spy-flick jazz or groove-heavy Krautrock stripped to its barest essence, Loderbauer and von Oswald’s electronics glistening in a sticky cobweb of reverb and delay. The languidly stepping Structure 3 faintly recalls von Oswald’s work with Mark Ernestus as Rhythm And Sound, with St Hilaire’s chords hanging thick above bone-dry drum machine drift. Lastly, Structure 4, the track structurally closest to techno, is pervaded by a sense of mischief, with Muellbauer’s strings — plucked, bowed, scraped — coming to the fore.
For all its complexity, this is also a very playful album, and the Trio’s increased confidence and empathy as improvisers allow them to indulge flights of percussive fancy, sudden about-turns, vectors into the unknown. Horizontal Structures sounds, above all else, free.