06 April 2006

Sabi - Nebulous Sights - Cactus Island - 3" CD













This will be the first time I've written about Cactus Island's series of limited edition 3" CDs even though they are currently on the 15th release. They've all been of a beautiful quality so far and yet, there's a real feeling of progression with the last two releases from Nautilis and Sabi.

I don't know whether they're getting deeper or darker as time goes on, but they seem to have so much substance that I felt it really was time to issue forth my thoughts.

Sabi is a Japanese artist who runs SAAG Records in Tokyo and, amongst other things, has released tracks on Merck, Hydrogen Dukebox and net.label Sutemos and here he delivers a 5-track EP of sonic beauty and warmth with an overriding feeling of melancholy and wistfulness.

In some respects this has a classic 'Electronica' sound - crisp rhythms, sinewave melodies and luscious chord structures. And yet there's a wonderfully contemporary feeling that belies its roots.

The production is, as always, immaculate and from the opening moments of 'Plastic Stains [Hard]' you know you're going to be getting something that will enchant and hypnotize you.

It's all about the musical elements with this CD and the layers of textural sound that provide the intro are simply gorgeous. They flow over a gentle click-style rhythm and there are lots of nice incidental sound recordings present in the background. A perfect way to begin.

'After Ants' takes things in a more structured direction with a recognisably electronic style that's reminiscent of, but not totally similar to, Plaid or Maps + Diagrams. A downbeat rhythm rolls along with its Electro influence in place whilst the musical elements sit atop, majestically weaving a superb spell on the listener. Shimmering sounds and, once again, layers of background sound deliver an engrossing experience.

'Uki Reflection' is conceivably the most organic sounding track on the EP. Starting with field recordings of children and general bustle it's a beatless track that relies completely on the lovely Rhodes piano progression of chords to get its point across... a dreamy, slightly unreal sense of reality. One of the strongest tracks on the CD.

Then we're back to the delightful rhythmic tracks with the delicious 'Matmilk'. This is simply a divine piece of music that anyone with a soft-spot for the likes of Expanding or Toytronic will adore. Simple, effective and well paced, the track is clearly influenced by mid '90's Electronica, yet there's a distinct nod to the sounds of Detroit in the high strings.

Finally 'Early Morning Dusts' brings things to a gentle close. A watery sound prevails and the deft use of analogue synth tones creates an atmosphere that's full of feeling and emotion. To be fair it's a surprisingly low-key way to finish but, cunningly, it really leaves you wanting more.

It's always nice to find genuinely excellent electronic music and Cactus Island once again proves that it's a very fertile source indeed for this type of sound and although it can be hard to find them (due to the limited runs they produce) it's absolutely worth tracking them all down.

Long may they continue to put out releases of this calibre.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home