Akira Kosemura / It's on Everything (someone good, 2007)
01, Orgel
02, Unknown
03, Pause
04, A Park
05, It's on Everything
06, Pause #2
07, Solace
08, Embraced Time mf...
09, Orgel st
10, Perpetuity
11, Perpetuity #2
12, Coastline
all compositions
written, produced, recorded, played and mixed by Akira Kosemura
mastered by Lawrence English
art direction by Yuma Saito
photography by Shin Kikuchi, Akira Kosemura
- ORDER -
Boomkat, A-musik, Norman Records, White Noise.
iTunes, eMusic, Rhapsody.
:: REVIEW ::
Yet another testament to the fact that each event receives its signification retroactively,the debut full-length effort from musician and Schole label manager Akira Kosemura ruminates with poetic reverie on the tender emotions and cheerful obsequious humor of summer’s past. Music of the hushed type, the compositions are fuzzy at the edges, yet a bound in detail and incidents that are newly burnished.
The title-track, for one, is a slow build up of steady minimalist piano strokes, dabbed carefully with children’s voices and traces of paranormal emissions while the atmospheric sonics, emitting a laconic light, continue in their legato course. It is a work that has the feel of a nigh time symphony, unfolding as though a ritual, and marked by a spiritual, celestial dimension. And, as with any single path leading through a particularly fertile plain, segments are lined with an assortment in plumage, rhythm, and manners of activity. Certain moments dovetail electronic and acoustic music’s for maximum hypnotic effect; certain others amplify the sense of acoustic space, filling it with scant few elements, and letting the spirits sag; yet others employ backings of a more distinctive nature, with glitches that scuttle and trickle, playing in the eddies in between the reflective piano lines.
Kosemura’s ability to grasp these elements in the totality of their interconnectedness is evident, with a sense of movement and event manifested on a consistent basis. This he does despite the fact that compositions shift their gaze, peering into the past, present, future, and the various ways in which they intermingle and inform each other in sometimes surprising ways. The closing track, in particular, seems flecked with a more robust maturity and sense of unease. The listener is thereby privy to numerous symbolizations of one inaccessible kernel (in this case, one shaped during childhood), and is throughout able to derive no small amount of pleasure from both the due participation and passivity shown towards it.
by Max Schaefer (The Milk Factory, UK)
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Mostly gorgeous, piano driven pieces, with a sublte mix of ambient and found sounds－voices of children and others－give this a feeling of an outdoor recital. The magic is in the heartbreaking beauty of the music, music that seems built for one in a small room, but is offered to all outdoors. It is an expression of both the small and large beauties, which are us and the world, two angels we’re always mistaking for demons. Haunting and playful, songs like "A Park" and "Pause" and "Embraced Time mf" are overwhelming emotionally but warm. This set is one to take along when reliving the past, regretting a bit, but finally accepting the fact that is wasnt all that bad; in fact, it
was a pretty fucking amazing ride.
by Mike Wood (Music Emissions, CA)
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At the core of Kosemura's It's On Everything are lovely piano-based compositions whose alternately pretty and melancholy melodies are embedded within rich textures assembled from field elements and nature sounds. The material is so evocative, one could easily imagine his piano being played in his backyard where sounds of water, birds, children, and insects are so close by they're also picked up by the recording equipment. Percussive pops suggest the spatter of raindrops in “Orgel” while electronics mimic the buzzing of insect swarms in “Unknown.” Perhaps most representative of the album's bucolic style is “Solace” which unearths a dusty old piano from a long-forgotten attic. Kosemura doesn't hew to a one-dimensional template, however: “Embraced Time mf... ”: jarringly juxtaposes dreamy piano melodies with the agitated electronic stutter, and “It's on Everything” features burbling keyboard patterns reminiscent of American minimalism. It's not a perfect album―rain sounds pour forth so heavily in “Perpetuity,” the piano sounds like it's on the verge of drowning, and the album's placid ambiance is compromised in the closer “Coastline” by extroverted beat clatter and boisterous electronics―but it's overall a more than satisfying addition to the label's catalogue.
by textura (Portugal)
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Akira Kosemura is a pianist and composer based in Tokyo who also runs the Schole imprint. He starts working in 2005, making several compilation appearances and releasing an EP and lately his debut album ‘It’s On Everything’ on Someone Good, the sister label to Room40.
He blends acoustic piano and minimal electronics and recalls the music of other Japanese artists in the likes of Kyo Ichinose, Yuichiro Fujimoto and g_n44f.‘It’s On Everything’ is washed by soft piano lines, field recordings (voices of children playing) and some electronics producing an enchanting album with fine melodies.
by Guillermo Escudero (LOOP, Chile)
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Akira Kosemura hails from Japan, and like so many other Japanese artists, he’s largely unknown in the musical world. Released early this summer, It’s on Everything, Kosemura’s first solo effort, reveals a hidden gem to the listener. Prior to this release, I'm hard pressed to think of many notable minimalist releases from 2007, but thankfully Kosemura's debut begins to turn the tides in our favor. It’s on Everything is a beautifully enchanting mix of both delicate piano work and fragile electronic hooks, one which will surely turn many enthusiasts onto his soulful music.
What really makes this effort standout is that it doesn’t overexert itself; Kosemura understands what he is good at and gives the listener just that, maximizing the audience's enjoyment without falling prey to overly ambitious compositions. This is not to say that the album gets boring; in fact, even after basically overplaying It's on Everything, each listen provides some new, previously unnoticed nuance which heightens the overall experience. “Orgel” is the first glimpse of Akira’s work, leading off the track with a simple piano verse and a serene combination of ambient sounds coupled with soothing drones. This track is nothing crazy with its bare bones approach, but Kosemura makes every note count and is able to convey countless emotions with every single key stroke. “Unknown,” the second track, features more of the same piano and electronic combination, but uses it in a different way, as the track seems to figure itself out during its duration. The track goes on a journey from a slow and soothing to a bit more sped up while not losing the semblance of the overall track. Well composed and cohesive, it's a winner.
One could go on forever describing how each drone, strike of the piano keys, and electronic backdrop are placed with remarkable precision, but all this banter would not do It's on Everything justice as each song is meant to convey different feelings in each of us. Kosemura understands the subjectivity in the listening experience, and creates a musical experience which not only can be incorporated into various moods and settings, but should also find large appeal in a broad audience. One track truly worth looking into is the title track. It’s one of two upbeat tracks on the effort, and coupled with its nimble beat, loops, and hooks, all of which make it a standout track, it demonstrates that Kosemura is capable of producing more then just piano driven tracks. There's a whole new world out there for this budding artist to explore, all in due time.
While It’s on Everything is only Kosemura’s first release it seems as though he already is a seasoned veteran of the minimalist movement. For a debut CD, it’s remarkable how addicting this album truly is and how the album does not change the listener's mood, but instead morphs itself to fit that mood. Our hats go off to a young composer, who, with just his first full release, is showing a great deal of potential.
by Erich Meister (The Silent Ballet, US)
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Akira Kosemura is amongst the current wave of Japanese artists working in the field of minimal yet melodic electroacoustics. Much as is the case with the recent batch of Spekk releases, "It's On Everything" manages to be at once a rigorous exercise in sound design yet also a delicate, highly musical listening experience. Kosemura takes recordings of acoustic performances (most notably piano) and merges them into a softly spun soundscape of high frequency electronics, field recordings, glitching beats and all manner of laptop squeaks and pops. There are comparisons to be made to The Boats, or even the recent Fennesz + Sakamoto album, such is the skill and composure of Kosemura's touch. While some pieces are heavily based around simple, emotive phrases on the keys ('Solace' brings to mind the stark economy of Swod, for example) others, such as 'Pause', rely almost exclusively on digital instrumentation and location recording treatments. In either case Kosemura manages to sustain the same degree of elegance and intimacy, making for an album's worth of highly captivating contemporary electronica. Gorgeous stuff.
by Boomkat (UK)
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The ingratiating It’s On Everything instantly Plops Kosemura down in the company of similarly-striped folks such as Sawako, Filfla, and Sakamoto/Alva Noto, gene-splicing glitch detritus, pindrop percolations, and motor hum with tender piano chords plucked from his trusty grand. Best of all, nothing seems overly precious; Kosemura’s emotional restraint is his virtue, experimental zeal his trump card. All these qualities come to a head on “Pause,” where children’s voices become talking head edits subsumed in rushes of radiowave static, Pan Sonic-esque high frequencies and a disarmingly nai¨ve melody played out on faux xylophones.
by Darren Bergstein (e/i magazine, US)
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