Shigeto
"New Crossings"
EP
Moodgadget
Records
Genre: electronic, ambient
Ann Arbor, USA
Oct 6 2008 |
Shigeto's New Crossings EP is a concise dose of
atmospheric music. The press release claims that it'll teleport you
straight into such quotidian environments as "the deep of winter" or
maybe "calmly hovering over a helicopter propeller" or perhaps "your
Introduction to Music class when the professor plays some electronica
track and asks you what it sounds like, to illustrate that yes, music
can be made to sound like stuff." Okay, I made that last one up.
New Crossings consists of five tracks with carefully orchestrated
textures that are designed to sound like stuff (specifically, their
titles). Shigeto plays with keyboards, sound effects, insistent
beats and slightly angular ostinato melodies to build his tunes. In
general, they're moderately hypnotic and relaxing. So they serve their
intended purpose.
As foreground music, some of the tracks are more interesting than
others. Opener "May" is arid and unmemorable. But "Winter Thaw," which
gradually progresses from crunchy static sound effects to
watery-sounding keyboards, kind of hints at a story (though it doesn't
really elaborate beyond the title) and is dynamic enough to merit
attention throughout. My favorite track on the EP is "Helicopters in
the Sky," which uses spacey sound effects and jumpy microtonal shifts
to evoke thoughts of a surreal and spooky environment. It's easily the
most viscerally striking and thought-provoking composition on New
Crossings. As for the rest of the tracks, if you feel like spacing
out they certainly won't hinder you, but they're not exactly soulful.
Strangers talk about the weather, and even after listening to New
Crossings' soundscapes I still don't feel like I really know
Shigeto, other than that he's probably very meditative.
shigeto's
myspace
76%
Rhett Alexander
[Vitals: 5 tracks, distributed by
the
label,
released 2008] |