If you took Zoe Keating, Sigur Ros, a slight dash of Warp Records glitch and a sprig of Shugo Tokumaru's playful, toy-like style, mixed them up and kneaded them into a dough, you might come close to baking a loaf of something resembling the music of one Katsuhiko Maeda, aka World's End Girlfriend.
Most of his work seems to be based around a few well known instruments, mainly cello, piano and saxophone. Yet just naming a few of the component parts misses the whole entirely. His composition are rooted in classical ensemble pieces, but that's just the starting point. Maeda then takes the songs and runs them through modern tech, stretch and stuttering them, adding infinite layers, not to mention percussion lifted out of the standard Apehx Twin textbook. While his early works rely more on the obvious use of computer generated sound, his later work throttles that back in a big way, letting the music speak for itself. The pieces are stark, yet darkly elegant. They have the quiet seriousness of Sigur Ros, yet also a more playful, organic/fantastic mood at times. The incongruous use of saxophone and other slightly less traditional instruments alongside the small string section only adds to the cognitive dissonance.
The musical style also effortlessly shifts, often several times within a single song, from dour classical, to slight jazz, to sparkling piano interludes. Maeda packs each song with dozens of ideas. It's almost too much to take in at one sitting. The songs demand repeat performances, if only to prepare one's self for the oncoming tide of musical colors. The album also titles offer a bit of insight into Maeda's world, Farewell Kingdom, Enchanted Landscape Escape and Hurtbreak Wonderland being most notable. His music does have a certain fantastical element behind it. Something very civilized, yet not quite grounded in reality. Something well suited for, say, a Ghibli compilation like Kira Kira Gibri, Nausicaa Requiem and Kimiwo Nosete, which he does, in fact, appear on (along with the similarly fantastical De De Mouse.)
In a live setting Maeda sometimes plays solo, other times with a larger band. His solo performances seem a little boring to watch, as he just sits next to some gear, playing along on the guitar. With a larger band the songs find a bit more life. Yet Meada's work seems best consumed in the album format, in a quiet setting with either some nice headphones or in a suitably dimly lit room. Whatever the venue, his music is sure to inspire otherworldly visions of greener pastures.
Birthday Resistance
Official Site
Albums:
Ending Story (2000)
Farewell Kingdom (2001)
World's End Boyfriend (2001)
Dream's End Come True (2002)
Wonderland Falling Yesterday (2002)
The Lie Lay Land (2005)
Hurtbreak Wonderland (2007)
Enchanted Landscape Escape (2007)
Ghost of a Horse Under a Chandelier
Garden in the Ceiling
Live - Scorpius Circus
1 comment:
wow, amazing stuff.
keep up the work ZB, you supply me with some music i never knew existed.
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