Chihei Hatakeyama is well popular these days. We sold tons of his his last few albums. We couldn't get enough of 'em! After releases on Kranky, Room 40, Under The Spire and Spekk the fella has turned into somewhat an ambient drone superstar of late. His new opus is called The River and it's released on the up and coming Hibernate label (last release was Ian Hawgood). This is seriously lush sounding music. Yeah it's more drone and tone and that's seems to be half of what we get some weeks but this guy does it so well it will make you sick. Once you get over your illness you'll be all calm and will succumb to his warm ambient charms. The melodies waft in and out like little gusts of wind, the tones and drones are very much like a river gently flowing down the river and it all combines to make a completely lovely pastoral sounding thing of beauty. If you're into this whole ambient drone scene and are digging the likes of the Infraction label, Under The Spire, Home Normal etc then this is an essential purchase. 500 copies only in digi wigi pack.
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Sound clips for The River by Chihei Hatakeyama: on CD at Norman Records UK. CD, Hibernate, £9.29.
Chihei Hatakeyama is a Japanese artist living on the outskirts of Tokyo who produces some of the most beautifully refined and emotive ambient music around. With releases on Kranky, Room 40, Under the Spire, Magic Book Records, Spekk (as Opitope) and now Hibernate Records, he has quickly established a solid and unique footing in the genre. I have followed Chihei' s work since his first full-length release on Kranky in 2006, Minima Moralia , which remains one of my favorite albums to this day. This album is full of dense drones and texture with suggestive melodic phrases intervening at just the right moments. The River is a step in a different direction, with a strong theme and trajectory from start to finish that becomes all the more apparent when listened to in appreciation of one of Chihei's influences the film Apocalypse Now directed by Francis Ford Coppola. You know why you can never step into the same river twice? cause the river is always moving. A curious quote from this film where the Nung river is the lifeblood for the local population as well as the occupying soldiers, but is also symbolic of the the progression and struggle of humanity against herself and nature. In his words, Chihei s productions can be described as œmemory-evoking soundscapes composed with various recorded materials of acoustic instruments such as guitars, vibraphone, and piano played by hand and processed time and time again via laptop. The River opens with Jade Green River , a track that builds with swaying tones in the higher frequencies, but with relief provided by a reassuring, resolving drone in the lower frequencies. This sets the fluxuating mood for the album. The music ebbs and flows, interspersed with soft, warm moments like light drizzle, to darker, mysterious pieces like a temple in the past. This is an engaging piece of work that satisfies greatly when listened to on headphones, but also provides an introspective atmosphere when listened to at low volume over loud speakers. This is a real gem of a release “ a hopeful sign of what we might expect in the future from Chihei and from Hibernate recordings.
