Chihei Hatakeyama - Variations

"2010’s long-playing effort, Variations, is a graceful series of compositions built upon the acoustics of the barest of instrumentation. It strips away Hatakeyama’s previous flirtations with electro-acoustics and clean melodic interplay, buying back into ambient fundamentals such as abstraction and formlessness. The luscious enveloping tones that permeate his catalogue are still present in spades, but the variety of sonic textures is kept to a minimum, emphasizing instead the flow of sound through an abstract vacuum.

The electric guitar variations are the most solidly indicative of Variations’ essence. Part one is a metamorphosis of guitar notes into bright, crystalline tones which first ring, then bathe in their own resonance. Part two is the most minimal, predominately structured around loops of sounds deeply submerged and so brutally processed that they leave little space for source recognition. The intermittent spurts of drowned chords piercing through delicate atmosphere beckon comparisons to Stars of the Lid." (The Silent Ballet, review)

Listen here: http://www.soundscaping.net/releases/304/variations