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SLOWLY MINUTE, "TOMORROW WORLD"
Bubble Core
The first thing that drew me to Japanese solo artist Takahiro Chiba(aka Slowly Minute) and his first official North American release wasthe connection with Adam Pierce (Mice Parade) and his NYC-based BubbleCore label. Being somewhat familiar with Pierce's unique approach toblending rhythms and music of diverse cultures, I was expectingsomething equally intriguing and exciting from Slowly Minute byassociation. Although not as high energy as Mice Parade, I was quitesurprised and definitely not disappointed. Tomorrow World'snear-raw mix of generic synth sounds, harp samples, hiccupping RolandTR-707 beats, acoustic guitar and piano add a certain charm to its lushyet strong compositions of weaving melodies and quirky arrangements.I'd been listening to this disc almost exclusively on headphones duringdaily commuting, so even the finest of details were apparent from theget-go. From the polyrhythmic programming and looping guitars andweaving keyboard of opener "The Song of the Sun in Autumn's Holiday,"Chiba sets a very relaxing and uplifting tone which carries throughoutmost of the disc. The repetitive guitar arpeggiation and jazzy ridecymbal motif of "Minutes Made!" lays down the foundation for bursts oflow-end synth squelches, distorted guitars and tom-tom rolls to playover and gradually shift into a more straight-ahead number. Thegorgeous "Little Bird" quickly became my favorite; itsBrazilian-flavored nylon string guitar and upright bass set to odd yetplayful machine beats and dense piano/keyboard/harp arrangements. Withits multiple melodic lines and feel changes, it's amazing that Chibamanaged to piece it all together without it sounding cluttered. "It'sthe Girl Who Goes to Do Some Shopping" turns on a dime from itstecho-esque rhythmic keyboard intro to sampled drum fills tofast-forwarded tape chirpings and dance beats. Although Chiba reliesheavily on the generic keyboard and drum machine sounds without muchaltering, what impresses me most about Tomorrow World is hisability to make the simple compositions sound complex and vice versa.Having recently formed The Lopops as a guitarist, I'm anxious to hearthis undeniably talented musician in a group setting or perhaps on afuture Mice Parade recording.
The first thing that drew me to Japanese solo artist Takahiro Chiba(aka Slowly Minute) and his first official North American release wasthe connection with Adam Pierce (Mice Parade) and his NYC-based BubbleCore label. Being somewhat familiar with Pierce's unique approach toblending rhythms and music of diverse cultures, I was expectingsomething equally intriguing and exciting from Slowly Minute byassociation. Although not as high energy as Mice Parade, I was quitesurprised and definitely not disappointed. Tomorrow World'snear-raw mix of generic synth sounds, harp samples, hiccupping RolandTR-707 beats, acoustic guitar and piano add a certain charm to its lushyet strong compositions of weaving melodies and quirky arrangements.I'd been listening to this disc almost exclusively on headphones duringdaily commuting, so even the finest of details were apparent from theget-go. From the polyrhythmic programming and looping guitars andweaving keyboard of opener "The Song of the Sun in Autumn's Holiday,"Chiba sets a very relaxing and uplifting tone which carries throughoutmost of the disc. The repetitive guitar arpeggiation and jazzy ridecymbal motif of "Minutes Made!" lays down the foundation for bursts oflow-end synth squelches, distorted guitars and tom-tom rolls to playover and gradually shift into a more straight-ahead number. Thegorgeous "Little Bird" quickly became my favorite; itsBrazilian-flavored nylon string guitar and upright bass set to odd yetplayful machine beats and dense piano/keyboard/harp arrangements. Withits multiple melodic lines and feel changes, it's amazing that Chibamanaged to piece it all together without it sounding cluttered. "It'sthe Girl Who Goes to Do Some Shopping" turns on a dime from itstecho-esque rhythmic keyboard intro to sampled drum fills tofast-forwarded tape chirpings and dance beats. Although Chiba reliesheavily on the generic keyboard and drum machine sounds without muchaltering, what impresses me most about Tomorrow World is hisability to make the simple compositions sound complex and vice versa.Having recently formed The Lopops as a guitarist, I'm anxious to hearthis undeniably talented musician in a group setting or perhaps on afuture Mice Parade recording.
