Makigami Koichi - Tokyo Taiga

Makigami Koichi’s latest release from 2010 is one impressive meditation. The theater actor, theremin player and throat-singer is joined here by 3 russian/mongolian folk musicians (playing everything from percussion and cello to traditional Mongolian instruments). The result ranges from shorter  tracks which feature a lot of improvisation and longer tracks with extremely dense atmospheres.

The cd contains 11 tracks and clocks in at a nice 52 minutes which gives you a good value for your money.

All player’s contributions are used in a way reminding me of a painter using brush strokes to paint a landscape. A bleak and cold landscape where nature’s  great power shows more evidently than in today’s big cities. That said there’s something quite romantic about the loneliness and bleakness of this music. You’re taking a walk in the icy tundra and your limbs might freeze but sometimes it’s good to be alone with your thoughts, instead of being overwhelmed by information.

A highlight of my on release purchases this year and now that winter breaks loose it’s even better. Highly recommend for snowy landscapes and lonely evenings. I’d also recommend stereo headphones but  this music is clearly supposed to float through a room and fill it with it’s images. You’ll feel a romantic isolation even without headphones before the first song ends.

Cd time: 52:09

Personnel:
Makigami Koichi: Vocals, Cornet, Theremin, Slide Kubiz
Bolot Bairyshev: Vocals, Altai Traditional Kai, Topshuur, Shoor, Khomus
Sato Masaharu: Percussion, Khaen, Voice
Shika Udai: Cello

Standout tracks:
Tundra 13:02
Yume (Dream) 7:22
Tokyo Taiga 4:52


Links:
Makigami Koichi:
on last.fm
official website
on Tzadik records
Myspace Page