SAWAKO
"BITTER SWEET" (12K1047)
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AVUI
(IT)
Sawako Kato és una compositora japonesa que ha sabut
integrar amb harmonia i criteri el facor pop en un context musical
d'electronica minimalista i sumptuosa. Improvisacio i melodies
somniadores per aixecar una altra obra esplendida, de tons calids
i formes precises.
BLOW
UP (IT)
Tempi felici nella magica stanza di Sawako, che continua instancabile
a polire piccole perle in serie. Non si smorzano ancora le magnifiche
risonanze di “Madoromi” che la digital mutation
girl ritorna con un album che ripercorre le orme dei predecessori
(minimalismo atmosferico sopraffino), svoltando però
verso striature elettroacustiche che aggiungono un tocco di
ulteriore astrazione alla materia sonora. Sawako esce dal guscio
di vetro luminescente ed incrocia processing digitale e field
recordings con il violoncello di Jacob Kirkegaard e Jess Ivry,
le chitarre di Ryan Francesconi e Radiosonde, il violino di
Lila Sklar. La componente delle registrazioni d’ambiente
non è prevalente come in precedenti episodi, nonostante
il richiamo a stilemi evocativi ormai inconfondibili (Looped
Labyrinth, Decayed Voice). Si continuano a scandagliare le tecniche
di trattamento dei microsuoni con la disarmante semplicità
di sempre producendo saggi di rara intensità emotiva
(Wind Shower Particle, Deep Under). Il resto, è un naufragare
dolce tra refrain atarassici (Utouto) e loop sommersi (Tsubomi,
Saku), prima della filastrocca finale recitata dalla timida
voce dell’artista, schermata proprio come le forme nelle
immagini di Maki Kaoru impresse sul digipack.
Un must.
BRAIN
DEAD ETERNITY (IT)
Looking at the impressive curriculum vitae of Sawako, which
includes a Master’s degree in Interactive Communications
and studies in “Networked Expression, Physical Computing,
Post Linear Narrative and Audio/Visual”, one is almost
taken aback by the tender greeting that Bitter Sweet,
probably the most emotionally intense work she’s given
birth to, reserves to the listener.
A polymorphism of warm textures whose ever-changing nuances
- best appreciated in two heartrendingly stunning tracks such
as “Deep Under” and “Looped Labyrinth, Decayed
Voice” - put our thoughts in that zone where childhood’s
pureness of reminiscence and the candour of a vital ecstasy
meet. A multi-chambered wintriness only rarely illuminated by
traces of shimmering light, immediately dissipated by a copious
leafiness of meshed melodies, rather simple but, in their intersections,
projecting huge shadows all around the place where you’re
standing. It’s without a doubt a splendid album, also
for the reason that the composer wisely chose to focus the effort
on the instrumental weaving, leaving her frail vocal tone appear
exclusively in the final “A Last Next”. The whole
gains both in concentration and grief, the Japanese girl returning
to the highs reached in Yours Gray on And/OAR, making
us care for her music with renewed fervour. Among the guest
artists, Ryan Francesconi and Jacob Kirkegaard.
A modern ambient miniature masterpiece, with more than a fair
share of highlights: play "Tsubomi, Saku" in infinite
repeat at sunset and deliver yourself from the burden of an
ineffectual mortal subsistence.
DE:BUG
(DE)
Sawakos neues album is weniger bestimmt von Fieldrecordings,
die auf dem letzten Album ganz programmatisch für die illusion
sorgten von in den Halbschlafzustand einfließenden Raumwahrenehmungen,
die sich mit Traumbildern vermischen. Bitter Sweet
ist
abstrakter, aber nicht weniger
intensiv. Der Fokus liegt auf schimmernden Obertonschleiern,
wie Licht, das durch Blattwerk flackert, oder über klares
Wasser (angemessen illustriert durch die Coverfotos, danke),
auf das Festhalten von Augenblicken überirdischer Leichtigkeit,
in die sich das eine oder andere Instrument diverser Gastmuskier
fallen lässt. Das glückt ganz besonders schön
in der Kollaboration mit dem Duo Radiosonde, das Gitarre beisteuert
(und Tee). Sawakos sehr angenehmer Drone-Spaziergang ist konzentriert
komponiert, und endet im letzten Stück: ihre Stimme holt
einnen sanft aber bestimmt in die Wirklichkeit zurück.
- Multipara
ELECTRONIQUE
(IT)
Secondo lavoro per Sawako Kato (in arte soltanto Sawako) per
la “12K” di Taylor Deupree, label che non ha certo
bisogno di presentazioni per tutti gli affezionati delle varianti
di suono minimale applicate alla musica ambient in genere.
Sawako torna nelle file della “12k” dopo l’eccellente
debutto del 2005 con l’album “Hum”, proseguendo
la sua immersione pressoché totale negli antri più
nascosti della musica ambient.
In questo nuovo esercizio mentale si avvale della collaborazione
di musicisti classici come Radiosonde alla chitarra, Jacob Kirkigaard
al violoncello, Lils Sklar al violino e Jess Ivry all’altro
violoncello.
Il suo è un’affascinante gioco di sintesi su tappeti
quasi noise, animati in maniera randomica da strati di suono
creati per mezzo dei citati strumenti opportunamente digitalizzati
e resi scheletro.
Nelle 9 tracce che compongono il lavoro è forte l’utilizzo
di registrazioni di suoni naturali, cinguettii, sibili, battiti,
echi di fiumi e di foreste, surreali scenari che si fondono
a meraviglia con i suoni dei vari strumenti e con l’apparato
elettronico, il tutto, senza mai sovraccaricare una struttura
di per sé esile e delicata.
Non mancano i cambi di rotta, segno di grande padronanza del
linguaggio da parte dell’artista, è così
che assistiamo a tracce dal sapore space ambient come “Looped
Labyrinth, Decayed Voice” ad altre decisamente più
melodiche come “Utouto”, realizzata con la collaborazione
di Ryan Francesconi, fino a chiudere con “A last Next”,
brano nel quale possiamo assaporare anche la voce della stessa
Sawako.
Nel packaging le splendide fotografie dell’artista newyorkese
Maki Kaoru, ad incorniciare un album denso di atmosfere intime
e profonde.
ETHEREAL
(FR)
Deux ans et emi aprés Hum, album plutot décevant
en ce qu'il n'apportait rien de bien intéressant par
rapport a ce que 12k peut nous proposer par ailleurs, Sawako
revient, toujours sur le label new-yorkais, avec Bitter
Sweet.
Pour son troisieme album, la Japonaise évacue ces pistes
vocales qui n'en faisaient que l'énieme avatar de l'ectronica
chantée nippone (hormis dans le caudal "A Last Next")
pour se concentrer sur ses nappes, faites de sons tres lumineux,
a la limite du suraigu. Délaissant par endroits cette
approche minimaliste, limite ascétique, la jeune musicienne
y accueille des instruments réels, comme la guitare de
Radiosonde ("April From Sea Shell"), celle de Ryan
Rancesconi ou le violoncelle de Jessica Ivry ("Utouto").
Délicat et gracieux, le résultat permet d'assurer
d'habiles intermedes entre deux titres sur lesquels le travail
se concentre davantage sur les ambiances sonores et la trituration
des sonorites.
A leur égard, on dépolorait donc, en 2005, le
peu de personnalité de Sawako par rapport a ses congéneres
de label. Cette fois-ci, il y a lieu, a l'inverse, de saluer
les progres accomplis dans l'intervalle puisqu'a present, chaque
oscillation est ciselée, chaque mouvement, anticipé
et chaque superposition précisément ciselée
("Wind Shower Particle," "Looped Labyrinth,"
"Decayed Voice," "Tsubomi, Saku"). De meme,
on regrettait naguere l'absence d'éléments <<différents>>
dans les compositions de la Japonaise; impair réparé
aujourd'hui avec les consonances quasi-métalliques de
"Ex.o.tico" et "Utouto." Si Bitter Sweet
ne constitue pas forcement un chef d'oeuvre du genre, il sonne
néanmoins comme une solide réhabilitation pour
son auteur, dont on attend maintenant avec impatience la suite
de sa discographie.
GONZO
(BE)
De missing link tussen Christopher Bissonnette en Sawako is
Taylor Deupree. De Amerikaanse geluidskunstenaar verzorgde de
mastering voor "In Between Words" en is ook de bezierler
van 12k, het label waar Sawako "Bitter Sweet" op uitbrengt.
Bissonnette en Sawako zijn allebei nog vrij nieuw in de wereld
van de soundscapes maar bewijzen beiden over genoeg persoonlijkheid
te beschikken om eigen klemtonen te leggen. Waar Bissonnette
op zijn beuut nog nadrukkelijk refereerde aan het werk van Biosphere
ligt nu het accent meer op spaarzame, breed uitgesponnen klassieke
composites. "In Between Words" aakt wat ons betreft
een goede kans om het tot één van onze persoonlijke
favorieten van dit jaar te schoppen "Bitter Sweet"
van Sawako weegt minder zwaar door, maar laat na en ontgoochelende
"hum" en een goede "madoromi" (op het Anticipatelabel)
een sterke en meer volwassen indruk na. Toch heeft de Japanse
nog een lange weg te gaan om op gelijki hoogte te komen met
Bissonnette.
GROOVE
(DE)
Dieser Transfer vom Personlichen zum Offenlichen, vom Privaten
zur Kunst, ist zurzeit am schönsten bei der japanischen,
seti einigen Jahren in New York lebenden Sawako zu verfolgen.
Die nach längere Pause nun in kurzer Folge erschienenen
Alben Bitter Sweet und Madoromi schreiben
diese Geschichte in Form von behutsam digital bearbeiteten Field
Recordings, zurückhalend eingesetzter akustischer Instrumentierung
sowie ihrer flüsternden Stimme zu einem so sanften wie
reichen Soundtrack fort. Ein fundamentales Sich-treiben-Lassen,
das mal mit der süßen Schwere eines hitzeflirrenden
Sommertags, mal mit her euphorischen Mattheit einer Jetlag-getriebenen
schlaflosen Nacht eingergeht.
LIABILITY
(FR)
Pour sa deuxième
échappée pour le label 12k Sawako Katoa quelque
peu modifié son entourage pour la réalisation
de Bitter Sweet. Si, inévitablement, Taylor Deupree,
à la masterisation, est toujours de la partie, on retrouve
également Hayato Aoki qui apparaît sous le pseudonyme
de Radiosonde avec Takashi Tsuda. Ce sont là, les deux
seuls rescapés de l'aventure Hum d'il y' a deux ans.
Pour Bitter Sweet Sawako a donc fait appel à de nouveaux
noms dont Jacob Kirkegaard (violoncelle), Ryan Francesconi (guitare
et mixage), Jess Ivry (violoncelle) et Lila Sklar (violon).
Un niveau d'orchestration sans doute un peu plus riche que sur
Hum mais qui ne supplantera pas pour autant les efforts électroniques
de la jeune femme. Des efforts qui s'apperentent d'ailleurs
à une suite logique de ceux précédemment
consentis. Bitter Sweet et Hum même combat pourrait-on
dire. On se trouve toujours dans ces sphères ambients
pleines de lumière qui se vivent comme des expériences
solitaires aux portes du mysticisme. Là encore, Sawako
ne sort pas d'un cadre assez minimaliste mais dont chaque sonorité
prend un maximum d'espace. Bien entendu, il est inutile de chercher
de véritables mélodies ou une évolution
logique dans la musique de Sawako, ce qui ne veut pas dire qu'elle
est irréfléchie. Simplement Bitter Sweet est l'image
même d'une musique qui se laisse porter, flottant sur
des eaux calmes, sans remous et sans autre ambition que la recherche
de la sérénité.
A ce petit jeu là Sawako n'a sans doute pas beacoup de
leçons à recevoir. Surtout quand, à ses
côtés, elle peut compter sur l'expérience
d'un Taylor Deupree dont les talents ne sont plus à démontrer.
Une collaboration qui, en tout cas, porte ses fruits puisque
Bitter Sweet apparaît comme plus abouti que Hum. Dans
cet espèce de quète du paradis perdu Sawako semble
reconstituer peu à peu un puzzle qui devrait la mener
au firmament. Le chemin est sans doute encore long mais on sent
qu'elle n'est plus très loin d'une certaine perfection.
Mais l'atteindra-t'elle jamais ? C'est toute la question qui
se pose tant l'évolution de Sawako semble aller au même
rythme que sa musique. En tout cas elle se forge une discographie
des plus respectable et qui peut raisonnablement prétendre
à une belle place dans les anthologies des beautés
froides. Certes, il est difficile de se contenter de cela. La
meilleure des récompenses serait alors de savoir quel
est le degré de béatitude acquis après
l'écoute de ce disque crépusculaire.
MUSIQUE MACHINE (.COM)
Bitter Sweet is sound and ambient artist Sawako forth album
and it finds her pulling and morphing organic instrumental colours
into beautiful, atmospheric and detailed sonic sheens and lush
drone expanse. Though electronic processing is used through
out it never feels synthetic or cold, it’s always feels
very real, natural and organic as if growing from out of your
play back system filling your listening and head space with
an often warming sonic glow.
She utilizes instrumental colours of others playing be it cello,
violin or acoustic guitar to make her dense yet lush sonic constructions
that are often grounded in rich harmonic warmth and keen expansive
atmosphere. But it never becomes too cinematic or big and brash,
she makes sure the sound is kept personal and felt through-out.
She also users sparing and stirred in field recordings mainly
of natural and animals that never become to invasive and are
left to subtle drift here and there. The album tracks shift
through sonic seasons from spring’s budding life and wonder,
to summers warmth and carefree joy, To autumns crisp air and
underfoot, bone white skies in sombre mood, to winters white
changed landscapes, skeletal trees, warming log fires and contemplation.
Sometimes she lets the instruments pick, pluck or bow hover,
glide or wonder near untouched- there harmonic resonance clear,
beautiful. At other times you can just make out the instruments
original tone as she pulls them out into rich harmonic sheens
and drifts
Another seamless and highly reward mix of electronic textures
with organic instrumental sound and field recordings from the
always consistent 12k label. With Sawako fitting nicely in with
the rest of the labels out put yet making this very much her
special sonic place you’ll want to revisit often.
RIF
RAF (BE)
Van Sawako herinneren we ons nog Hum, haar drie jaar
oude debuut dat deze New Yorkse muzikante-software designer-multimediaal
artieste bij 12k releaste. Bitter Sweet verschilt niet
drastisch van die eerste plaat, zij het dat de composities meer
diffuus klinken, als nevels in je hoofd. Voor fans van electro-akoestische
avantgarde, drones en etno-ambient.
ROCKERILLA
(IT)
Bitter Sweet e il secondo cd di Sawakot Kato ad essere publicato
per la 12k di Taylor Deupree, dopo lo splendido Hum del 2005.
Nel frattemloncellisata Jacob Kirkegaard e con i due Radiosonde
(Aoki Hayato e Takashi Tsuda), ospiti anche su Bitter Sweet.
Sono proprio i lenti e cupi vibrati del violoncello a caratterizzare
la maggior parte delle tracce del disco: suoni cupi ed evocativit
intorno ai quali Sawako costruisce le suie atmmosfere impalpabili.
Sulla commovente "Utouto" e presenta anche la chitarra
del polistrumentista Ryan Francesconi.
Sawako e oramai diventata una catalizzatrice per chi si muove
a cavallo tra avanguardia e pop, colto epopolare
SILENT
BALLET (.COM)
The attention surrounding NYC/Tokyo based Sawako is as low-key
as her subdued drone. Despite Hum's cult status and Madoromi's
acclaim, between the rest of the world and her bedroom secluded
fan-base, Sawako's hype fizzles. While overlooking her in favor
of 12k's headliners, I've treated Sawako like a blind date suggested
by friends: total avoidance, no matter how convincing -- cemented
in stereotype. How could I possibly stand myself for listening
to tunes penned as sunny-drone?
Song titles like "Tiny Tiny" conjure the image of
Sawako with a ponytail, paint-splattered overalls, and jam-smeared
fingers banging on a keyboard. I desperately wanted Bitter Sweet
to confirm this notion, just so I could smirk to myself while
dusting my extensive avant-garde record collection. So I held
off listening to the album ("That title! That cover art!")
until I was sweating gin late at night. And I decided it was
the best thing I heard all year, perfectly happy to sit in my
dark apartment and listen to the midnight drone for the next
week. After my inebriated knee-jerk obsession wore off, the
sonic envelopment of nature and melancholy innocence in “April
– From Sea Shell” and the rich organics in the one-two
punch “Looped Labyrinth, Decayed Voice” and “Ex.o.tico”
(which pairs an outsider freaky-drone vibe with shimmering backdrops)
still make the case a convincing one.
Bitter Sweet twists Sawako's sunny tone and reverse engineers
the traditional artist trajectory: rather than polish rough
edges for a more accessible sound, Sawako embraces anti-pop
and descends evolution with a series of rug pulls and shatters
expectation in tow. Forget what you know about her back history,
bizarro Sawako has arrived and no one is smiling about a damn
thing. A track titled "H U G B U G" must channel feelings
of warmth and motherly validation, right? Instead it’s
a desolate Lynchian sequence of hollow electronics with a wandering
sonic undertone, like a serial killer cruising the highway for
prey.
What irks/sticks with me isn’t just the mature vibe, but
the awareness of Sawako throughout: about five minutes into
"H U G B U G," the death knoll fades into minutes
of silence, then returns in a helter-skelter overture with different
tones shooting off past one another, leading into an eruption
of static that begins the next track, “Utouto.”
This tacked-on ending doubles the desired length and bloats
the material with unneeded pretense and finger-wagging. You
can almost picture Sawako grinning gleefully and covering her
mouth to keep from laughing.
The whole reaction to filling a role reeks of insincerity; Sawako
successfully tones down the sunshine and smiles for more mature
compositions, but she still looks up to gauge the audience response
and juvenilely disrupts the spell. And it’s so frustrating
because when she throws convention out the window and just does
her thing, it blows me away. Maybe I’m just projecting
my aversion to pop-expectations onto a neutral affair, but the
teeth-baring “Deep Under” shows Sawako packing a
hacksaw under her Little Bo Peep dress and it’s a pretty
convincing testament to her potential.
Sure there are a few stumbles and minor nitpicks, like certain
songs sounding indistinguishable from one another, and a few
overwrought outro's, but these are mostly quibbles and discussion
jump-offs. The only major blunder is when Sawako packs cookware
instead of a parachute and breaks the dreamy spell with vocals
on "A Last Next." While this criticism is fairly translucent,
it's as if we've gained nothing from this revolutionary album
and fallen back into destructive habits.
So after this rambling way too in-depth review / subconscious
projection, I still have important opinions about Bitter Sweet!
It’s just an incredibly slow-burning, deep, and challenging
listen. I’m not at liberty to rank albums, but this is
Sawako’s most mature of the three I’ve heard, and
incidentally her least schizophrenic. Ultimately, the album
reflects the effort put in: a brilliant record for late night
reflections and hallucinations, pot-marked and wrinkled on close
examination. The ghostly soundscapes contained herein channel
Basinski and Deupree at their best, and no matter the criticism
or preconceptions, stigma and timidness about the genre or how
it ranks against Sawako or 12k's past output, you will find
something to like about this album. Hell, I did. -James Anaipakos
TEXTURA
(CA)
Vielleicht schließen wir hier an, doch ist diese Musik
überhaupt noch da? Soviel Zurückhaltung, Zartheit
und Intimität in elektronisch-akustischer Musik war selten.
Die Japanerin, die sich über die Jahre als eine wichtige
Spielerin in der New Yorker Electronic-Music-Community hervorgetan
hat, erschafft mit diesen 9 Tracks durch eine dekonzentrierte
und nahezu Zen-artige Unaufgeregtheit eine seltene und eindringlich-tiefe
Präsenz. Klar ist, dass alles unklar ist, verschwommen
und unscharf, doch die luzide Dichte, mit der dieses Bewusstseinsgefühl
exploriert wird, ist sagenhaft. Marcus Maida
TEXTURA
(CA)
Sawako may be a New Yorker of many years standing (a Tokyo resident
too) but her music exemplifies none of the city's frenetic intensity.
The pastoral soundscapes collected on Bitter Sweet, her follow-up
to last year's Madoromi (Anticipate) and 12k sequel to Hum (2005),
act like a therapeutic balm to the harried soul. Words like
tranquil, fragile, delicate, resonant, and tactile are commonly
used to describe Sawako's work and they all apply. As fresh
as early morning dew, Bitter Sweet's softly glistening settings
are drones of the gentler persuasion, or perhaps it would be
more accurate to call them dreamscapes perfectly capable of
lulling listeners into states of reverie from which they'd rather
not return. Sawako humanizes her electronically-generated drones
with well-placed touches—the acoustic bass lines that
briefly appear amidst the tranquil gleam of “Wind Shower
Particle,” the groan of Jacob Kirkegaard's cello that
drifts over the willowy tones of “Deep Under,” and
the pairing of Radiosonde's gentle guitar shadings with field
sounds and church-like tones in “April~ From Sea Shell”
(Jess Ivry's cello and Ryan Francesconi's acoustic guitar likewise
deepen the pastoral character of “Utouto”). In fact,
so many bird chirps and rustling noises emerge alongside the
glistening tones in “Looped Labyrinth, Decayed Voice”
one might think it was recorded at the center of a wildlife
sanctuary. In an unexpected but not unwelcome departure from
the album's style, “A Last Next” finds Sawako ending
the album with a vocal lullaby that's as lovely as the material
preceding it. Par for the 12k course, Bitter Sweet comes in
a beautifully design package adorned with photographs by Maki
Kaoru whose images distill the transcendent spirit of Sawako's
music into visual form.
VITAL
WEEKLY (NL)
Of the three new releases on 12K/Line, only one is really new,
which is the second album by Sawako for 12K, following 'Hum'
(Vital Weekly 502), which we enjoyed very much back then. More
than the previous, this is an album in which she receives help
from others, such as Jacob Kirkegaard (cello), Radiosonde (guitar
and tea), Ryan Francesconi (co-mixing and guitar), Lila Sklar
(violin) and Jess Ivry (cello). Some of them play on more than
one track. Sawako plays the rest, which I think is mostly electronics
and computer processing of field recordings. This new album
sees a continuation but also further exploring of 'Hum'. Sawako
still explores the deep end of microsound and ambient glitch,
but it's all a bit more abstract than before, but all is gently
humming down the lines. The addition of real instruments add
another layer to the music and marks a fine album. Nice progress
is made here.
WHITE
LINE (UK)
Another unwavering, effervescent, and dreamy release from New
York based Sawako, that consolidates her position as one of
the leading female practitioners of minimalist ambience. After
a clutch of live outings for various events and festivals, and
releases on some very prominent labels, Sawako’s brand
of ambience grafts processed field recordings over delicate
shavings of guitar, and other instrumentation, namely Cello,
provided by Jacob Kirkegaard and Jess Ivry, and violins from
Lila Sklar. Clearly, Sawako has invested her emotional energy
into producing a work of sublime simplicity and concision, fostering
delicate atmospherics, and exquisitely executed musicianship.
Field recordings are not as prominent here as on previous releases,
although pieces like Looped Labyrinth, Decayed Voice hark back
to the Sawako of old, feeding birdsong through a gently enveloping
loop sequence. This technique will be totally familiar to her
ever growing network of followers, and has essentially become
something of a trademark. The beautiful refrains of Utouto,
accompanied with a delicately picked guitar sequence from Ryan
Francesconi is a straight down the line ambient piece, that
conjurs images of rivers bathed in glistening sunlight, a perfect
backdrop to lazy summer days. Closing track A Last Next, features
the artist’s own voice, shimmering almost at a whisper
over a gauzy, winding central theme, this is blissed out ambience,
the ultimate chill pill.
Sawako’s world is delicious and delicate, and to get down
to gender specifics,it is most assuredly feminine – a
world of cotton candy and pink fluffy clouds, maybe, but in
the hands of one of the field’s more established figures,
is capably handled, and beautifully assembled. Accompanied with
12k’s slick presentation, graced with the ethereal photography
of Maki Kaoru, this is one of the season’s must-have releases.
BGN
