The
Boy & The Tree is Yokota’s eleventh album
in eight years. The man is not only one of the most
prolific musicians of his generation, but also without
a doubt one of the most imaginative. He has equally
made his mark playing techno, ambient, jazz and electronica,
always taking his audience by surprise while building
a surprisingly consistent piece of work, making him
one of the most respected composers around. Yokota’s
follow up to last year’s blissful Ginning
Cat and similarly excellent Will is yet
another fascinating recording.
Contrasted and impressionist, The Boy & The
Tree is a delightful collection of radically atmospheric
compositions, built around ephemeral sonic trances,
in the tribal sense of the word. From the opening moments
of The Colour Of Pomegranates to the closing
bars of Blood & Snow, Yokota delves into
ethnic sonorities, using traditional Oriental percussions
and instruments combined with founds sounds to focus
on the most fragile aspects of music and life and create
one of the most haunting pieces of music heard in recent
times. Yokota admits a certain fascination for nature,
particularly feeding on the mystery of the island of
Yakushima, a designated world heritage site home to
hundreds of secular trees, situated in the south of
Japan. He also names one of the most successful animated
films in Japan history, Mononokehime, a mystical
tale depicting the battle between animal gods, as a
source of inspiration for The Boy & The Tree.
Yokota’s delicate compositions resound with spiritual
references. Chimes, prayers and lamentations all contribute
to the hypnotic effect of this record, while the tone
of the flutes, tables and stings, intrinsic unworldly
elements in the constructions, deflects the electronic
characteristic of the record by injecting some vital
energy at the heart of each track. Ethereal voices are
integrated in the lush soundscapes in astonishing fashion,
never really being prominent, yet exercising an incontestable
pressure on the music by stressing the ephemeral nature
of life. Yokota’s mastery at carefully organizing
sounds together and crafting intriguing melodies is
more obvious here than on any of his previous releases.
It seems as if each component has a dedicated role to
play, affecting the general mood of the listener while
not entirely connecting with the physicality of its
source, be it human.
Yokota has perhaps produced with this album his most
intimate work. Moreover, perhaps will it prove to be
too intricate and intense for some. There is no doubt
however that The Boy & The Tree is his
most soulful and best record to date. A must.
5/5 |
