Customer Reviews

Ko Ko Ko Ke

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KO KO KO KE is a true solo recording - Tamura produces all of the sounds himself with his trumpet and voice. The mood of this album is less frenetic than parts of EXIT (both were recorded in 2003), but the effect of the music is no less insistent, drawing the listener into the audio world created by the artist. The elements of memory and dreams are present here as well (the cover photographs represent it beautifully visually), perhaps even more vivid in the less-populated audio canvas. Tamura is very obviously drawing upon his own memories here - not just directly, by way of tunes that he perhaps heard in his childhood, but in mood as well. The hazy, in-and-out-of-focus realm of time distance is recreated in an incredibly effective way here. There are snippets of songs - some tracks are performed solely as vocals - and evocations of traditional Japanese instruments (the shamisen and the taiko) as well. The album is as far as I can discern performed and recorded as heard, with no overdubs - it's a process that leaves the artist literally naked before the listener, with no place to hide...but the honesty and sincerity with which Tamura presents these pieces adds a quality to the music that no amount of technology could ever match. He'll play a few lines of melody on his trumpet, presented here with very little if any alteration, then sing a bit. There's a childlike innocence and openness to not only his voice on this album, but to the entire project - it's as if through the music he's recorded here, he's presenting his innermost self to the listener...and it's a very moving experience, as well as being one that is incredibly satisfying on an artistic level. The album has a feeling of intimacy that permeates every single track - it's almost as if he made this recording for himself. I'm very glad he chose to share it.