Frontaal
Naakt
18 mei 2017

New wonderful album by Smany

 

 

In 2013 she gave us Komoriuta, which I described as a crystal fairy tale world where warm snow flakes whirl down from the sky. A year later Polyphenic followed, ‘an album of heavenly music with hints of Satie, Kate Bush, Akino Arai and a soupçon of Tom Waits’.

Smany went pretty silent for a couple of years but this month she surprised us (or at least me), with a new album, again downloadable for absolutely free, called Kotoba. This one is far less heavy on the electronics with more emphasis on piano and subtle drums and percussion. It even has a song featuring rapper Himeshi.

It’s still rather silent music, verging on the ambient, with Smany’s light whispering voice leading the way. I think the piano and the drums, along with the warmer tones of the electronics she does use give this album an earthier, a less ethereal quality.

On her Twitter-page Smany posted some footage of a live performance she gave with her band. The videos do her wonderful music no right but I am embedding one of them here anyway. (PB)

 

 

Japan, Music