Ryoko Akama – Code Of Silence

Ryoko-Akama-–-Code-Of-Silence

CD – Melange Edition

This five-track record has an immediate and powerful impact. Code of Silence opens with “jiwa jiwa”, whose unhurried tonal development is coldly resonant, super-synthetic, rarefied and industrial. The author has indicated that she is exploring the Japanese notions of “phenomime” and “psycomime”. The former concerns words/phrases that mimic certain physical forms, while the latter are depictions of psychological states, emotions or feelings. Ryoko Akama usually works in a number of artistic fields (sound, visual arts and composition) and is adept at maintaining tension. She plays with minimal elements, spatializations and absences, and although her works are developed with different levels of detail they are always incredibly dense and dronal, full of crackles and hums, startling electronic iterations and loops. The Japanese experimenter was previously a member of the combo Lappetites (with Kaffe Matthews, AGF and Eliane Radigue) but the sound of this album is more cohesive and electronic than her former work. The approach is tonal and intense, and although structurally uncomplicated the sounds produced seem to move in and out of the contemplative space of the listener, creating the impression of being in some limbo of perception. The sounds evoked by the title are manifested by an abstract minimalism, careful control over volumes and drops, by the immanent static nature of the loops and by the dilated, circling textures. There are also moments of “fullness” where the listener is driven to majestic impressions and images: these are elements of ethereal environments, stylised, futuristic and permeated by frequencies. This is a highly recommended album; a happy mix of project coherence, a pleasant listening experience and formal results.

 

Ryoko Akama – Code of Silence – jiwa jiwa (clip)