These's been some wonderful old sounds out of Japan in the last year few months, ranging from delightful quirk-tronica to mad as badgers neo classical.....to quality post-rock. They're making some of the smug Pitchfork endorsed rubbish look seriously dull. Look, i'd rather have my ears bitten off by a randy squirrel and made into a Cornish pastie than have to suffer ATP curated by the once majestic EITS. But then I slave in a stupidly busy record store to earn my cynical badges, thanks. Enough of that anyway....i'm liking lots this CD by Izumi Misawa. It's a heartfelt & playful CD of twinkle, bloop & glitch called 'Speaking Behind the Raindrops'. The lady in question has one of those wondrous childlike voices that divide opinion much like the Mum lady from Iceland. (BTW, whatever DID happen to Bennet?) What you get for yer hard earned wonga is some very organic, occasionally abstract & wayward sounds sprinkled with Oriental glee, really pleasing to the ears (no, that squirrel ended up in the pastie ;o]) I'm at a (slight) loss to describe the music as it is quite drifting & freeform like, a collection of slowly unravelled sound collages that have found each other and require a big hug. It's all very beautiful & relaxing but if you want a terrace anthem, you are fucked. To assist, she endorses & embraces all this lot: "vibraphone,marimba, glockenspiel, kalimba, moon-bell, hand cranked music box, kawai-toy piano, Schoenhut toy piano, bass-melodion, MFB, ion, CS-01, voice, kaoss-pad, effect,rooms, toys, many many percussions....." AWW! She's a bit magic this lass so if yr a fan of that crackers Icelandic collective, Psapp or Coleen, you may well be totally taken with her lovely way with an instrument. CD only on Symbolic Interaction.
Love this record? Hate it? Tell us.
What their label says...
izumi misawa - Speaking behind the Raindrops (cd album)
