A Closer Listen
Takahiro Yorifuju’s music is soothing and supple, but new heights are reached on the single, 42 minute Apsidal Motion. Inspired by the starlit sky of Nigata and the countryside of Japan, Apsidal Motion is a dreamy delight. Above all, it’s beautiful music, and we mustn’t take its beauty for granted.
Under the stars (and absent of any kind of light pollution), a tiny fragment of the Milky Way comes into view, the music itself reflecting our home galaxy as well as the infinite spread of the universe beyond. Two weeks ago, NASA’s Kepler mission verified 1,284 new planets, the single largest finding of planets to date. Pillars of dust and planets yet to be discovered sit in the same universe, and as we sit beside the gently stirring grass, gazing up at the stars of the air, we realize that we are all connected, all as one.
Saying that, Apsidal Motion has spells of intimacy. The tightened tone is close to the body, and yet, in some indefinable way, the music continues to stretch out its long, ambient tones, the brighter melodic arms slowly entering and then swirling around the lower, confined system of notes, holding them in the spiral arms of its galaxy.
Yorifuji’s music is primarily formed with an electric guitar, its usually sunny, clean tones obscured by moist clouds of reverb that are dulled even further by what must be the neck’s pickup position, its infinitely deep tone glimmering in the reverb. Aglow with a warmth despite the midnight temperatures, the music relaxes into a healthy meditative state where deep, tranquil notes and blurry tones that want nothing but the best for your well-being come to take you away.
On Euphotic, Corey Fuller uses a pipe organ, while Chihei Hatakeyama gently provides the accompanying electric guitar tones and drones. At first, the organ plays a single, sustaining note. Slowly searching the area, it timidly expresses itself. The drones are bare – they don’t have anything else to cover them – but the music isn’t cold. A sliver of a bass provides the heat as it gently throbs below the drone, the weight of its gravity never trying to push against the lighter, more susceptible tone. Its heat circulates throughout the body of the music, giving off a golden glow, like a jaded, late morning light passing gently through a leaf. The air is pure as it circulates around the atmosphere, cleansing everything with the perfumed clarity of swaying pines.
The undulating, rhythmic waves are hypnotizing, gently bringing about a wonderful serenity. The four lengthy tracks are perfect for a deep soaking, and the calm, colossal tones gently soothe the mind. Euphotic is a shimmering soundscape, a fountain of sunshine that never loses its light. (James Catchpole)
Available here
Fri May 27 00:00:00 GMT 2016