Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on June 2011
It’s been three years since the last release from Tokyo vocal electronica duo Freesscape, and from the sounds of their new album there’s been a wealth of musical experiences in the interim.
The basic template—Emi Evans’ diaphanous, multi-tracked voice set against Hiroyuki Muneta’s ethereal electronics—remains in place, but compared to 2008’s Next Confusion, there’s a welcome expansion of horizons.
“The first and second albums we were still fumbling and experimenting— not quite sure of ourselves or what our style should be,” Evans says. “Freesscape’s third album is a special evolution to us because it accomplishes everything that we were trying to do but weren’t quite able to before in terms of depth, expression and subtlety.”
The album’s first single, “Lost Petals,” is downright rocking. Evans begins with a typical dissection of her own psychology over a bed of her own cello lines, but instead of staying in chillout mode, the tune then breaks into pounding drums, guitar power chords, and even danceable beats.
The self-searching “Storm” continues the mood, swelling from pianos and strings into full-on techno beats, while “My Sweet Escape From Tedium” sets Evans’ bluesy cello against super-cool, Portishead-flavored trip-hop sequencing.
The album ends with the hushed, reverent atmosphere of “Avalanche” and Evans’ meditation on a difficult life in music in the form of the acoustic guitar seasoned “Anchor Song.”
In sum, Now is the point… adds up to a more self-assured, risk-taking outing than Freesscape’s previous work over a ten-year career.
“We were composing and creating selfishly just to find ourselves, without really aiming it at any audience in particular,” Evans says about their earlier recordings. “But thanks to the confidence we gained from the first and second albums, we started writing the third with a strong belief in our music—that we were going to create something meaningful and worthwhile not just for ourselves but for everyone who listened.”
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