Up-and-coming experimental producer Nekomaru self releases his magnum opus—his second full-length album titled “A tree that bears Memories.”
Experimental electronic music doesn’t always get the attention and credit it deserves, but some creators of it stand out and are truly deserving of praise. What happens when you disregard the rules, the tropes, pretty much everything you’ve heard already, and instead simply try to create something truly unique in the form of music that pushes boundaries—something to call your own? For Japan’s newly emerging producer, Nekomaru, the search for anomalous sound comes in the form of his latest self-released LP, “A tree that Bears Memories.” One wonders at what point does the unfamiliar become the original. When does the strange become the first of its kind?
From the perspective of this humble electronic-music-obsessed-reviewer, it all starts with releases like this one. What, in part, makes this album standout, is the way the contents of the LP are organized. From the gradual, menacing build up of the intro track, “Abhava,” to the dystopian sounds of war, conjured in the closing cut, “The other side of Now,” the album flows like chapters of a great novel, demonstrating cohesion and a narrative despite the chaotic nature of the unworldly music.
At the surface, the album might seem too abnormal to comprehend, but a close listen can reveal some of its nuanced brilliance. Throughout many of the tracks, deep bass tones and weighty 808s come dripping in at a staggeringly slow pace. Track two, “The Invisible Muse,” utilizes a deep and rich low end to create an ominous mood. Field recordings of birds and rain, various percussive textures, and vibrant metallic ringing you’d only expect to hear coming out of a temple converge to take you somewhere you’ve never been before. Ideal for a film score, or simply to be taken on an internal journey elsewhere, tracks like this one are exactly what many Experimental musicians strive for. Alternatively, the fourth track, “SN≠NS,” starts by manipulating a peculiar vocal chop, and eventually dropping a beat that is still abstract, yet better suited for moving to.
If you’ve managed to make it this far into the album, you’ll likely be overjoyed by what’s to come. The half-time broken beats of “Violence Noise,” and “JOINUS” sound as if chopped and screwed Hip Hop beats and Industrial Techno had a scrimmage. The next track, “Scorp,” picks up the pace, but only slightly. The repetitive chime of a grandfather clock strikes on the downbeat, while diabolical textures fill the gaps. Towards the end of the album, the eighth track, “Aurora,” offers a momentary break from the hellish soundscapes Nekomaru has an affinity for, and instead juxtaposes his signature dark, percussive suit with a hauntingly beautiful, drawn out melody for a moment of refuge like reaching the eye of the storm.
-Jeronimo Watson
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