Haling from Tokyo, Schole is one of a number of collective enterprising surfacing from the latest generation of young Japanese electronic composers. As artists like Midori Hirano, Piana and others find acclaim increasingly beyond the boundaries of their country and language, other younger artists in Tokyo and other centres seem to be equally increasing their global position and this compilation sums up a good deal of some of the names to watch in the coming years.
It’s not all unfamiliar names represented on this edition – in fact Lullatone and RF both have issued a number of acclaimed releases in recent years. The compilations featuring of artists such as Cokiyu, Akira Kosemura (also one of the key members of the Schole collective) and Daisuke Miyatani is perhaps where the attentive listening of the release should fall, as it is these names that shed some light on the emergent talents in Tokyo and beyond. Cokiyu for instance creates a familiar yet personal sounding electronica that references the distant discordant qualities of Sigur Ros set against the gentler end of Tujiko Noriko’s processing. Kosemura’s ‘Watercolour’ paints a naïve vision of pastel rhythm and floating melodic chimes – his personal style pointing to a sense of great future potential. Miyatani by contrast creates a spirited acoustic guitar piece, recorded live amongst what seems to be 1000 crickets, his combination of field recordings and free performance, bringing to mind the qualities of the Craig/Carchesio release on Naturestrip. Other contributions from artists such as Dom Mino and Haruka Nakamura are less realised, but offer a vision of what might come forth from Tokyo’s electronic underbelly in the coming years and whilst there’s some potential exhibited here it’s clear some artists have defined their creative stake more thoroughly than their brethren.
Lawrence English
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