Aoki Takamasa And Tujiko Noriko - 28

  by Mark Rowland

published: 24 / 7 / 2005

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An album three years in the making, ‘28’ is a beautiful record. A collaboration between already-established solo artists Aoki Takamasa and Tujiko Noriko, the bulk of the tracks were put together by post, sent between Noriko’s home in France and Takamasa’s in Osaka. Takamasa has now moved to France as well, which is a good sign that the pair intend to continue working together. Their collaboration began at a Cartier Foundation event in Paris in 2002. After talking at the event they started working on opening track ‘Fly’. They liked the track so much that they decided to do an album. ‘28’ is the result, simply named because they are both aged 28. Aphex Twin’s gentler output is an obvious influence on ‘28’, but not its only one. Several tracks bring to mind ‘Homogenic’ and ‘Vespertine’-era Bjork, and other Fatcat artists like Mum and Matmos. There is also a distinct Japanese feel to the album, partly due to Noriko’s breathy vocals. Smoothly switching between Japanese and English, Noriko emphasises the dreamy feel of these tracks, her voice floating lazily over textured electronic melodies and bleeping beats. Picking stand-out tracks is difficult as the album is consistently good, but ‘26th Floor’ is notable as the least melodic track, a more minimal, robotic track, over which Noriko mainly speaks. Elsewhere, ‘Alien’ has a particularly brilliant, sweeping melody, closer ‘NOLICOM’ has a great electronic hook and ‘Vinyl Words’ is a great showcase for Noriko’s beautiful voice. This is a fantastically relaxing record that draws you into its luscious swirliness, touching you on a very emotional level.

Track Listing:-

1 Fly 2
2 Vinyl Words
3 When the Night Comes
4 Doki Doki Last Night
5 Fly-Variation
6 26th Floor
7 Alien
8 Nolicom

Label Links:-

http://www.fat-cat.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/FatCatRecords
http://fatcat-records.tumblr.com/
https://www.youtube.com/fatcatrecords
https://twitter.com/FatCatRecords

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