Articles
2009 Artists' Picks
Lymbyc Systym

Albums
Cory Allen
aus
The Bird Ensemble
Canaille
Catlin & Machinefabriek
Greg Davis
Loren Dent
Dirac
Drafted By Minotaurs
Flica
Sarah Goldfarb & JHK
Gown
John Hollenbeck
Viviane Houle
I/DEX
Akira Kosemura
Andrew McKenna Lee
Le Lendemain
LRAD
Lymbyc Systym
Melorman
Muskox
The Mercury Program
Nikasaya
Northerner
nörz
Noveller / Aidan Baker
Redshape
Marina Rosenfeld
Stripmall Architecture
Sturqen
Wes Willenbring
The Tony Wilson Sextet
Julia Wolfe
Peter Wright
Zelienople

Compilations / Mixes
Blackoperator
Glimpse Four:Twenty 03
Kod.eX
Portland Stories

EPs
Molnbär Av John
Tommi Bass & B.B.S.C.
Julian Beau
Colours-Volume 5
Dalot
Echologist
Simon James French
Geiom & Shortstuff
General Elektriks
Geskia
Ernest Gonzales
Gradient
Jacksonville
Joker
Ann Laplantine
Loko
Machinefabriek
Stefano Pilia
Damian Valles

Akira Kosemura: Polaroid Piano
Someone Good

That Akira Kosemura cites Edwin Land's Polaroid film in his title is telling, as Polaroid Piano's music has little of the pristine, time-transcending perfection one associates with digital photography. His gentle and pretty piano miniatures come to us muffled as if heard through a scrim, and, analogous to fading colour photographs from years past, carry with them a sense of decaying memory. Though other sounds occasionally appear—a sprinkle of music box or toy piano, acoustic and electric guitar shadings courtesy of Muneki Takasaka (aka Paniyolo), and field recordings from Brisbane and Hobart by Lawrence English for added atmosphere—Polaroid Piano delivers primarily what its title promises: dream-like, dusty piano snapshots of elegiac and nostalgic character ( the mechanism of the piano itself is an oft-prominent presence). “Tale” sounds as if it was recorded at Kosemura's home with him playing piano by an open window through which sounds of children playing filter in. Elsewhere, Takasaka's electric guitar swoops plaintively through the serene tranquility of “Venice” while his guitar slivers augment Kosemura's piano droplets and bird chirps in “Sign.” At twenty-six minutes, it's a mini-album at best but nevertheless a rich and rewarding one.

January 2010