Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on November 2009
Tokiwa
Those with a taste for avant-garde Japanese music (you know who you are) will want to pick up the new release by innovative pianist Michiko Minakata. Armed with a piano and a battery of effects and samplers, Minakata obliterates musical borders, creating a space in which jazz, blues, ragtime, classical, “new music” and electronica compete for attention. The title track features dense, stately chords, while “Walk Around” tops up a jazzy substratum with bizarre electronic buzzings and bloopings. “Hotel of Phantom,” on the other hand, sounds very much like what its title implies: the busy soundtrack to an old-fashioned silent film. At times placid and at others bursting with frantic melodies and rhythms, Minakata’s musical vision is inimitable. She performs solo at Kichijoji Mandala 2 on Nov 26.
Michiko Minakata
Avant pop from Nekomaji pianist and friends. Nov 26, 7:30pm, ¥2,000. Manda-La 2, Kichijoji. Tel: 0422-42-1579.
