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The third CD by Takashi Suzuki should not be mistaken for an album of mere New Age meditations. With Voyage (65'34") he has indeed created another spare, unhurried work for synthesizers. But here he is making music that is more transcendent than it is escapist. The eight tracks prove to be too striking to be overshadowed by Voyage's larger themes of death and beyond. Dense with thought his refined starkness does not really provide much of a mixture of moods. But it does bring the listener to a place where we can find our own meanings. The continued hum of sustaining synthesizers has a tendency to lull our senses to repose, while the cinema soundtrack dramatic quality of each piece expresses in just a few slow notes an inner world of grief, mourning and hope. Long lines of violin strings hold and then move to the next emotional laden chord as gentle chimes vaguely resonate in an atmosphere of ageless quiet. Low rolling drones support tolling synth-bells, as the concluding pieces introduce an affirming kinetic component of propelling grooves, soft beats and a most welcome resolution. With his minimal music Suzuki addresses the tension between Modernism and emotions. Without all the disagreeable sounds and dissonance expected in today's serious music the beautiful electronic nocturnes and elegies on Voyage will have us searching and confronting ourselves. This album should make listeners feel lost and haunted, as if our souls may have not a return passport.
- Chuck van Zyl/STAR'S END 31 July 2013 |
