Album: Tranquilo Trasciendo
Artist: Shinji Wakasa
Label: Rottenman Editions
Catalogue no: RTE 013
Tracklist:
1. Rera
2. Hystricidae
3. Wood,
tar, water, fire
4. A
light house
5. Ray
6. Strix
down
Rottenman Editions is a Spanish label and art studio,
and this is the very first offering of theirs that I have had the opportunity
of reviewing. Shinji Wakasa is a Tokyo-based artist, composer, and sound
designer, and here we are presented with a selection of six of Wakasa’s ambient
tracks, all very much filtered through a uniquely Japanese sensibility, one
which has pervaded their culture throughout the whole length of their history.
This is ambient based around responses to nature and its inherent beauty, but
also there’s a sense that it’s not only the beautiful that’s the focus here but
also the less comfortable aspects too. Running through most of these seemingly
serene pieces there’s something of an undercurrent with a darker tone, but
admittedly it’s a very subtle one, but then I think that’s part of the point –
we see only the surface of nature, not the nitty gritty of its workings.
‘Rera’ starts proceedings off with echoing tones set
against a backdrop of running water, which precedes tinkling iciness, like
water droplets from melting icicles hitting water. Swathes of string-like
chords float and weave between the pin-sharp notes, creating the sense of cold
and snowbound landscapes. As glorious as that landscape may look its very
frigidity is a danger: behind the delicacy of sheets of snow blanketing
implacable mountainsides there’s always the threat of an avalanche. Jump into
that freezing water and you may feel the insidious fingers of ice robbing you
of warmth and sensation. Get lost in this environment and you will never make
it out alive.
‘Hystricidae’ (or Old World Porcupine) is not quite as
prickly as one would suspect, nevertheless the low drones and whistles tend to
suggest that this beloved creature, for all that it looks (and sounds) cute it
does have a deadly arsenal at its disposal, and that you annoy it at your
peril. Those quills aren’t just for show. Fundamentally, though, they’re benign,
herbivorous animals, and that’s what this particular piece is telling us: as
long as we leave them be then they’re not the dangerous beasts we sometimes
think they are, given the fearsome array of spines they carry with them. I
suppose what it’s saying in effect is that this is what nature as a whole is –
that it is benign and all-embracing but that it does have its defensive (and
dark) side that we ignore to our detriment.
Lest we think that nature is all red in tooth and claw
‘Wood, tar, water, fire’ reminds us with its ringing tones and sweet drones
that nature is indeed a beautiful tonic to all the miseries and woes of life
and the world. The shapes and colours beguile the eyes and ears, soothing the
furrowed brow, softening the worried expression, and extracting the stress,
even if it’s only for a little while. The jewels of what nature gives us
enchant the senses, and bring us back to our place in the world. The reverberating
tones of ‘A light house’ bring us back somewhat to the untarnished reality, a
deep drone infusing the background with a velvety darkness upon which the
treble tones shine all the more brightly. However, the manipulation and
treatment of those tones suggest a species of undertone that’s diametrically
opposed to the overall effect of light the title would perhaps imply. In this
case, those shining notes are a whimsy, a kind of foreground distraction to
take the eyes away from what’s going on in the background.
‘Ray’ brings nature right into our cerebra, with
birdsong, dripping and running water, and even a train horn. Into this come
clangorous tones which appear to compete with the background story, setting up
a slight tension and a dichotomous counterpoint. There are two viewpoints being
outlined here – the natural and the unnatural, one the world has given us and
the other that which we have foisted upon the world. It’s the competition
between the two, the fight for habitat and resources allowing each side to
survive. Sometimes it seems that, in our arrogance, we have forgotten that we
share our environment with other living creatures that have as much, if not
more, right to be here.
To round things off we have ‘Strix down’, another
reverberant and ringing piece, backed by a rhythm that’s reminiscent of one of
those traditional Japanese bamboo zen water fountains, perhaps indicative that
everything has a rhythm, one which we would do well to take note of and live
by. Water is itself a motive force, one which we’ve harnessed but one that also
has the ability to destroy. In amongst these ringing tones there is perhaps a
warning, a note of caution. In order to survive we must find the rhythm of life
and walk to its beat, rather than attempting to impose one of our own on the
world around us.
This is a thoughtful, and thought-provoking, set of
compositions, one that should be listened to carefully and attentively. There
is a message here, for those that care to hear – the world is a beautiful place
but that we shouldn’t take it for granted. Just like a garden, in order for
stability to be maintained it has to be tended and nurtured (especially a zen garden). A garden is an
individual responsibility, but tending the greater garden of the world is a
collective duty. This album is a rejoinder that we should shoulder that
responsibility, not only by showing us what’s glorious about it but also what
it’s capable of if neglected. In other words, just as we are essential to the
natural order of life, nature is also essential to our way of life. Thoroughly recommended.
Available as a download, a CD in an engraved wallet
made from Fabriano paper (Rosaspina 250 gr), and with ‘Ray’ & ‘Strix down’
as bonus tracks, and a 180gr black vinyl 12” in engraved sleeve made from
Fabriano paper (Rosaspina 250gr), handprinted full-colour poster and
photographs, and with hand-printed labels and hand-numbered. The poster is also
available separately. All can be ordered on the link below:
Psymon Marshall 2019.
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