Zen Sounds (DE)

Illuha is a Tokyo-based duo consisting of Corey Fuller and Tomoyoshi Date. They mix vintage and new equipment – pianos, guitars and whatever else might fall into their hands. What makes their electroacoustic music unique is the perfect balance of their seemingly random compositions, almost like fractals in nature. As a listener, you feel like you’re teleported into a world where sounds can be seen and touched, like floating, pulsating, ever-morphing objects.

Fuller and Date had released two albums before “Akari” – 2011’s “Shizuku” was a studio recording, but the artists had finished their work separately, and 2013’s “Interstices” was a live recording from a Japan tour. For their third record, the duo wrote and played together in a Tokyo studio for the first time, resulting in some of their most intrigung work yet.

“Akari” became the soundtrack to many of my recent introvert evenings, whether in my minimalist, dimly-lit Berlin apartment or my rural hideaway in the countryside. It’s music for people who thrive off being alone; sound that’s somehow more silent than actual silence itself. I don’t know if the song titles are meant ironically or to be taken at face value. I could definitely see both.