Customer Reviews

Scope

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Nobukazu Takemura takes the listener on a fascinating, hypnotic journey through a strange off-world composed of micro events and digital errors. I read an interview where Takemura spoke of the randomizer program he used to assemble "Scope". I was reminded of George Martin's instructions to Geoff Emerick during the Beatles "Sgt Pepper" sessions, to take a recording of fairground calliopes, cut the tape into varying lengths, toss into the air and then reassemble at random the scattered pieces. The result: the maddening swirl at the climax of "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite". In my opinion, psychedelia isn't some folksinger strumming a guitar and singing nonsense about gnomes to the accompanying drone of a battered farfisa or wheezing mellotron. The new psychedelia can be found in the work of bands like Oval ("dok"), Microstoria ("snd"), Main ("firmament"), Otasco ("new maps of time") and Stars of the Lid ("per aspera ad astra").

Japanese dj/producer has created his finest and most mature release to date with Scope. I was disabled by the numbing beauty and wonder that I experienced by listening to this record. six and a half minutes into the first track, takemura has placed an incredible section of stereophonic noise. it seriously changed my entire view of music in general, especially that which is made by electronic means.

The music on this album is certainly very innovative and original, but that isn't always enough. I like his softer more melodic side like in 'tiddler' and 'kepler'. 'Icefall'is a very innovative song...I've never heard anything like it in my life...I love the style and the incredible wall of sound and CD skipping...it sounds like your CD player has taken some electronic LSD and started to make his own music out of your Aphex Twin CD's. It makes me feel very dizzy though and it's the only music I know of that can actually make me seasick.

Very strange and recommended only for pure electro-geeks.

The disjointed animated sounds on this CD remind me more of a first rate modern art exhibit than a 40 minute CD. However, since I rate 1st rate modern art exhibits much higher than CD's that's a very good thing. All the tracks are different and display that uniquely Japanese trait of finding beauty through simplicity, space and seeming disharmony. This is wonderful. The world may be looking back 100 years from now and pointing to this as one of the finest examples of fine arts of any kind.

Nobukazu Takemura is clearly a prodigious talent, if this CD is an true indication of his abilities. I find this kind of 'deconstructionist' music fascinating anyway, but this is a rivetting example of this genre.

- 'on a balloon' - opening synth 'theme' is like an electronic lighthouse signal, warning us to avoid being wrecked on the rocks of the stark and bleepy minimalism to follow. While it didn't grab other reviewers, it certainly has me drooling for more
- 'kepler' - more approachable, with its insistent rhythms and synth throbs and bleeps, this is a fabulous foil to the first track. The track has an almost Steve Reich-like drive to it in parts. Captivating!
- 'taw' - here we are back to the less safe ground of synth bleeps and squelches. this track has a cheeky ambience that is very engaging - machine music with food for the head and heart
- 'icefall' - radiant and almost catchy, this is a welcome return to the warmer 'kepler' style, while it manages to also maintain an almost industrial starkness. A glitch track that stands tall with the best of that genre
- 'tiddler' - carnival-like tune cleverly deconstructed to finally become a stark synth-chord ending

Avoid this album if you want tunes that stick in your head, or background music. Buy it if you love innovative and emotionally centred electronica that tickles the cerebral cortex and releases floods of endorphins, bringing a wry smile to your face and a warm and blissful buzz to your body and soul.

Do not buy this CD if you don't have an open mind. You'll listen to it once and think... "Huh?", then probably never listen to it again. That would be a shame. This is noise, pure and simple. It's also some of the most beautiful music you'll ever hear. He has taken a wide assortment of odd sounds and molded them into something else - something grander.

"Kepler" is an interesting marriage of chime and voice, with the sound of angels floating about. "Icefall" is simply breathless in its digital melody. "Tiddler" has a nice lullaby sound to it (liked a warped version of Bach). "Taw" is the only track I couldn't get into (ergot, 4 stars). "On a Balloon" could easily fit into a spaceage version of an Ennio Morricone score.

All in all, I really liked this CD...

As the home reviewer here pretty much notes, if you're into anyone from Microstoria and Oval to Autechre's more abstract glitchery to Steve Reich's mallet-instrument hypnopatterns (_especially evident not only on the main riffs in "Kepler", but in the piece's key changes...it's a loving homage, if anything, though, maybe) and Nuno Canavarro's edited organ tones and blissfully garbled voice recordings, then you just might lose control of your faculties intermittently for the duration of this recording....at least I warned you... ;)

This 1999 album marked Japanese DJ savant Nobukazu Takemura's debut into highly experimental, difficult to classify music, which had previously been primarily club oriented or at least closer to the traditional side of IDM. "On A Balloon" kicks things off ambitiously with more than 20 minutes of utterly alien, amorphous sounds, whose original sources we can only guess at. His process for generating these sonic wonders involves sending some of the outputs of his mixing board back into the inputs, creating a feedback loop with many exotic possibilities. The palette of sounds constantly changes, but many melodic and textural themes do recur - Takemura's use of building up and breaking down patterns keeps the careful listener in constant attention and surprise. His use of stereo panning is also very impressive here; headphones are recommended to appreciate all the detail present.

Next is "Kepler", the most accessible song on the album and arguably the highlight. It finds Takemura in a minimalistic setting very reminiscent of Steve Reich, with beautiful warm synthesized melodic figures repeating in a meter that one would rather just cruise with than hope to count. Soon micro-aural vocal samples enter, unpredictably fracturing and interacting until they form steady rhythms. All the while the underlying harmony undergoes sudden modulations, drastically changing the mood from serene to ominous and back. This song is a gem among the best electronic creations this author has heard.

The remaining material maintains a high standard, though much of it is a good deal less accessible. On "Taw", many jarring, dissonant, awkward, and confusing sounds are juxtaposed in complicated ways that many listeners may not find musical in any traditional sense. This is not music to tap one's foot to. Nevertheless, Takemura's imagination is always at full force, and even the most bizarre moments have a sense of humorous invention to them. There is also beauty to be found all the way through, especially on "Icefall", in which a fuzzy opening melody is joined by bubbling bleeps and bloops to create a joyous, frenetic texture of bouncing notes. Closing the album is "Tiddler", a sluggish, good natured piece with the feel of a hymn or lullaby.

"Scope" is my first Nobukazu Takemura album, so I'll restrict my comments only to what I'm hearing on this CD and leave the comparisons to other reviewers. I'm impressed, for the most part. Takemura seems to be exploring some of the same sonic territory of artists like Oval taking only the most simple of melodic ideas and infusing them with the glitchy skipping of a CD player. This puts him in some interesting company already.

I've seen comparisons to minimalists such as Steve Reich, but I think this is misguided. I'm very familiar with minimalism (or process music or whatever we're calling it these days), and I'm not seeing a strong connection. Reich's music works through a process, but it is an ordered structure that one can comprehend either from listening or by examining the score. I don't hear the same structure and form happening in Takemura's music. I hear repetitive, but sometimes unpredictable skips providing rhythm and I suspect these are not intricately planned out in the way that a Reich work is.

The music sounds something like what I've heard from Oval and others that make music essentially about the medium of the compact disc. When listening, the listener is constantly aware of the playback device and its new role as instrument in and of itself. This was once a radical idea, but in 2000 when this CD was released, it's been done and done well. However, Takemura does it well also. His melodic side seems behind the curve, but not without a unique charm.

One thing I find interesting is the stylistic variety. "Kepler" sounds like a child's music box with a youthful optimism, while "Icefall" reminds me of a Chopin polonaise - although I might be the only one to think that and to explain what I mean would take a paragraph or two. "Taw" does away with melody entirely, favoring an electronic cut-up approach, but one track later, the sound is almost natural as if it's a purely acoustic recording being manipulated by software.

Some of the tracks fascinate me, such as "Icefall", while others like "On A Balloon" don't offer enough interest to justify their epic length. I feel like I should be giving "Scope" three stars, but since there's always the possibility that listening to more of Takemura's music will yield a greater appreciate for this album, I'll be generous and give it four stars. As far as a recommendation goes, I would point listeners to Farben, Oval, or even Autistici before recommending Takemura. This is an interesting album, but not something great.

A gust of wind. Soaring. Rising. Floating. High above the Earth, I look down and take in the gorgeous scenery. All of the roads and paths form intricate patterns, small, moving vehicles dot the green landscape. I feel a pang of acrophobia. Vertigo. Fear. Soon, I get used to the feeling and the enlightening sensation of height returns.

On A Balloon, the opening track, itself is worth the purchase. This song, when in the right mood, is absolutley beautiful. It is the only song I own that simultaneously breaks the twenty minute barrier AND keeps me listening the whole way through.

Kepler is a song with melodies that slowly come in, overlapping each other until a din of music box jingles, skipping child vocals, and synths dizzy me.

Taw, a more experimental, challenging track. While the chaoticness of a time measure adds to the greatness of On A Balloon, it more or less hurts this track. It, however, is not a bad track, with it's blurbling and bursts, which later become rythmic in the last minute or so.

Icefall is a beautiful and complex song of skipping melody. My second favorite on the CD.

Tiddler reveals Nobukazu's more conventional musical talent in a quick, sweet keyboard tune.

While I can't reccomend this to everyone, anyone with an open mind should give this wonderful album a chance.