Hakobune - Evergreen/Faraway (Avant Archive, 2012)

Hakobune – Evergreen/Faraway
Avant Archive 2012

Side A, Evergreen, begins with some nice, thick, yet gentle, harmonious electric guitar drones. But again, as we mentioned with our previous post, if you didn’t know that Takahiro played guitar you wouldn’t be able to tell this music was coming from a guitar. It sounds like there is a bit of a low pass filter going on, where its mostly mid-to-low frequencies getting through, giving side A a warm, underwater feel. When notes in the drone are shifting, it is at a very slow and gradual pace, barely noticeable. As this side progresses, the drone begins to grow in density, bubbling. Side B, Faraway, starts off in a similar fashion. Also like side B of Hakobune’s “Recalling…” LP, this second side sounds a bit more epic/dramatic. The thick drone gradually fades and out, a bit more noticeably than Side A.

Cassette available here: http://avantarchive.com/catalog/

Hakobune - Recalling My Insubstantial Thoughts (Tobira, 2012)

Hakobune – Recalling My Insubstantial Thoughts
Tobira Records 2012

Hakobune is the moniker for Takahiro Yorifuji based in Japan and this is his 17th full length! Side A, the title track (isn’t it such a great title?), kicks things off with some nice lush electronic drones. REALLY lush. So simple, and so great. Harmonious and organic, it doesn’t even sound THAT electronic. The harmonies shift ever so slightly, barely noticeable. I feel like an ocean is singing and the harmonies are just washing over me in waves, but gentle ones!

Side B, titled Maps, is also a drone affair but things sound a bit more – in music theory language – minor, or diminished, as opposed to the first side which had more of a major/happier vibe. Side B sounds a little more pensive. Some birds in the background. Frogs underneath the drone! Some very quiet waves crashing, or what could be wind.



LP edition of 200 available here: http://www.meditations.jp/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=7727&language=en