Ryonkt: Sunlight & Water
The Land Of

Following quickly upon the release of his Experimedia outing Small Conversations, Sapporo-based Ryo Nakata presents his latest Ryonkt material which he produced using nothing more than a guitar, laptop, and field recordings. The four untitled parts constituting Sunlight & Water do indeed evoke the natural outdoors, specifically a verdant and peaceful paradisiacal setting of the kind many would prefer to take up permanent residence within. Shimmering tones stretch for minutes on end in a manner analogous to the mental drift and inner surrender that an outdoors setting of that pastoral and enchanting kind induces in the receptive subject. Though guitar is a central sound-generator, it's never used in the familiar way of voicing melody; instead, Nakata processes simple lines from the instrument until they become undulating ambient streams that he enhances with subtle textural colourations derived from electronics and field recordings. A blanket of haze coats much of the sun-drenched material (the third piece ups the ante considerably) and water sounds (prominently heard in the first and fourth pieces) intensify the natural feel all the more. Not much else need be said, other than that this lovely little recording from The Land Of is tailor-made for listeners who can never get their fill of blissed-out, transporting ambient meditations.

February 2010