Music for kō is out now
1.4 2022
Inspired by Japanese incense rituals, new Erased Tapes compilation Music for kō explores the link between the sense of smell and sound.
Whilst Fernweh by Hatis Noit is a hymn for imaginary travel, and Masayoshi Fujita's Led by a Blue Bird into the Mountain is painting the impression of a creature leading the listener along their journey, UK-based Australian composer and saxophonist Daniel Thorne contributed the emotive soundscape of Under Waves, Ascending whilst Rival Consoles provided the perfect coda with Outline of a Distant Memory.
Originally commissioned by Folie À Plusieurs in partnership with the Noguchi Museum in New York, Music for kō is available digitally and on limited edition 12” vinyl now.
· stream & download Music for kō
· order it on LP · DL
“During the third UK lockdown in early 2021 I finally challenged myself to self-produce a whole song, which I hadn’t done before. Before, I wanted to focus on just using my voice rather than making music sitting in front of a computer, but the situation of lockdown challenged me to go on this new journey. Whilst making the piece, I felt a sense of missing going on physical journeys, and that sense of wonder that comes with travelling. So the song turned out to be a collage of memories of journeys I had so far as well as imaginary journeys I might have in the future. The whole process of making this healed the painful feeling of Fernweh for me somehow, and I hope it might have the same effect on others.” — Hatis Noit
"I had the image of a blue bird like a parrot from the beginning. Maybe it was inspired by the colour of the incense sticks I received for this project. The blue bird appears in my latest album Bird Ambience too, and there is a connection between this song and that album.” — Masayoshi Fujita
"While burning the incense, I found myself hypnotised by the rising trails of smoke and the way that they moved and expanded like waves. This led to an abstract concept whereby I tried to imagine what it might feel like to look up at waves from underneath them — I think it would feel as though you were falling, regardless of whether or not you were actually moving. I wanted to play with the concepts of movement and stasis, blurring the lines between the two to create a piece where it was hard to pinpoint which parts were moving and which were not, all the while trying to replicate the gesture of these rising waves." — Daniel Thorne
"My piece was made using lots of degradation processes to mimic the incense stick as it slowly burns, until it is nothing. The composition is very minimal to reflect the experience, which I feel is a subtle sustained feeling of nostalgia. I wanted the music not to say too much or overpower the scent, but to hint at things alongside the experience." — Rival Consoles
