Takashi Kokubo - Shadow of the Full Moon

 

Takashi Kokubo - Shadow of the Full Moon

Kokubo @ bandcamp 

Kokubo @ discogs.com

 

Lavender breeze carries on dewy morning through reeds of The Sage’s thatched hut.  Mountain bells toll, chimes dance, and a holy chanting in the distance.  And breeze whimpers away, reluctant to let go, until finally quenched in the corners by the shadow of the full moon.

 

 

1.  Morning Mist

              

               Opening chord like C maj6/9, focusing on D and B notes in the voicings. 

                              Guitar voicings:  x32230  or  x32430

 

               Then there’s A-11, very similar (11^th of A is D, the same as the 2^nd of C)

                              Guitar voicings:  x07530  or  x05530

 

               Synth blasts us briskly with A to E (5th)…D, E, G….G, down to E, to A… and in general plays around on A minor pentatonic scale, focusing on the softer neutral notes, like the 11^th (D) 5^th (E) and b7 (G).

 

               At 4:17, the synth hits F# (natural 6^th of A) which briefly changes the flavor of A minor pentatonic (A, C, D, E, G) to A Dorian (A, C, D, E, F#, G).

 

               A delay riff comes into play that focuses generally on the theme B, C, D, C.  This riff uses the 9^th (B) more than the synth lead line.

 

               Around the 5 minute mark a chord progression becomes established:  A-, G maj, D5, C maj.  And every now and then when the synth plays that F# note, it tends to fall over the D5 chord, implying it to be like a D7 chord (D, F#, A, C).  So for that brief moment we have a flavorful morning sip of tea.  Otherwise the synthesizer continues outlining the more neutral notes of the chords, like the 11ths and the 5ths.  

 

               Around the 8:20 mark there’s a brief metallic repeating pattern that plays C, D, G while the bass note changes between C and A.  This creates suspended sounds, Csus2 (C, D, G) and A-11 (A,C, D, G)

                              Guitar voicing:  x3x533 or x0x533

              

Monk meditation chanting hums in around 8:49.

 

Around 11 minute time stamp, synth lead comes in on E, D, E, G….then G, E, G, A…then, A, G, A, D…very much like a blues guitar player shredding pentatonic trills.

              

12:20….Pure rain…crisp tambourine, delicate synth lead, holy chimes, birds

 

            13:24….Slow synth lead ascending 4ths..A, D, G, up another octave to D….then C, B, C, B, A, minor pentatonic run.

 

               Then the build from the beginning happens, the C maj6/9 chord to A-11…then gradually the themes are reintroduced…then the holy harmony of A-, Gmaj, D5, Cmaj.

 

 

2.  Hermitage

 

               Main riff plays like D up to G, up to A up to D up to E.  On guitar it’s roughly: x55230 (D, G, A, D, E).  Another brilliant chord, a vague Dsus (D, G, A)..Gsus2 (G, A, D)…or Asus (A, D, E).  Lots of fun and ambiguous, like the anonymous hermit in the mountains..shrouded by foliage and the morning mist.

 

               Synth lead similar to previous song, mainly playing A minor pentatonic stuff (A, C, D, E, G) focusing on the sussy notes (A, D, E) but throwing in F# (natural 6^th) here and there to color it A Dorian.

 

               22:53…flute of the wind playing E, G, A, G, A trill riff.  Then G, A, C~~….B~~…G~~.  Very Chinese, very Tao, very Lao Tsu.

 

               24:52….so this is fun…there’s this recurring bell motif that plays on notes F#, F, D.  So F#, cool yea that fits with the A Dorian thing, but that brief A natural, almost like it’s a chromatic blues thing in D major blues scale (D, E, F, F#, A, B).  SO WEIRD to hear that blues thang in this context.  And the way the F# blurs into the F..then fades while the D resounds, super neat.  The bell overtones make this extra hard to pin down since the pitches are harder to identify, and prolly why the chromatic passage works so well.  

 

               29:17..big fade out…quietness…focus on these C Lydian harmonies…C maj7, A-, F maj7.  Bits of F# note over the chord except the F major7…then back to the build up.

 

 

3.  Shadow of the Full Moon

              

               Opening with piano meanderings, summer wind blowing bells and chimes, crickets, airy synth pad.  The general harmonies played by the pad is Asus, A-7, Fmaj(#11), Cmaj7 voiced (C,B,D,G).

 

               Around the 40:00 mark, quartal ascending piano leading to opening riff: C, B, G.  

 

               Piano harmonies focus on Fmaj(#11), lots of sharp brightness…some D-9….A-9, etc.  Eventually leading to C major and D7sus.  The main anchor chord is the Fmaj(#11).  A few goes of this chord progression, more quartal stacking harmonies, then…

 

               …synth pad returns, July swept chimes, crickets, wind…piano playing on motif C, B, G and sometimes B, C, D, down to G.  

 

               Generally there’s just a lot of pretty F Lydian ideas (F, G, A, B, C, D, E) with most of the focus on a held out B note…exhaling to resolve on A, across all instruments (bells, pad, piano).  Also a bit of focus on resolving lines on G..the major 9^th of Fmajor…prolly what creates the longing lilting feeling..as opposed to the strong B emphasis which is mournful and beautifully aching.

 

               Around 47:12, piano outlines a wide Fmaj13 arpeggio spelled like: F, up to C, up to B, down to A, up to D, up to B, down to A.  Lots of upward motions.  

 

F to C is the perfect 5^th, C to B is the major 7^th, A to D the perfect 4^th, D to B the major 6^th.  It’s crazy.  The chord is spread across multiple octaves coz of this, the only downward motion is the whole step from B down to A, both times (outlining the B to A resolve that happens throughout the song).  But every other motion in this chord is ascending.

 

Finally, single bell ringing on F amongst night bugs and the wind.

 

Witan - Hibernal

 

Witan - Hibernal 

Witan @ bandcamp 

Witan @ spotify

 

The snow dusted peaks of anonymous mountain, where pristine stillness pervades all life, where silence feels comfortably numb.

Recommended reading: Yasunari Kawabata - Snow Country

 

1.  Hibernal

 

               Bb-11 is our general tonality.  The scale is Bb, C, Db, Eb, F, Ab.  No mention of a 6^th (or 13^th) here, and there is some focus on C (the 9^th) in the delay riff, but otherwise the yearning snow swells focus on the Bb-7 arpeggio with some breezes of 11^ths here and there. 

Lots of humming F, Ab, and Bb, and particularly humming Ab notes in the lower registers. 

               Some voicings that encapsulate the vibe: xx8869 (Bb, Eb, F, Db) Bb-11

               The delay riff plays Bb, F, Eb, down to C.  So we have root, 5^th, 11^th, down to 9^th.  There’s a bass part that overlaps with this: Bb, F, Db, C.  Nearly in unison, except for the bass plays Db under the higher Eb, huge major 9^th leap creating more of that open blizzard air space.

 

 

2.  Isenfang

 

               Bass starts us outlining D- arpeggio: D, F, A.  With plenty of chilling overtones.  Every now and then, during the F note, Bb is hidden in there, creating like a very brief vague Bb major sound.  The difference between D- (D, F, A) and Bb major inversion (D, F, Bb) is that itty bitty half step between A and Bb, and Isenfang capitalizes on that chance and pulls us back and forth seamlessly between the two. 

               D minor scale: D, E, F, A, Bb, C, D.  No mention of G (11^th) here, instead we get the moody b6 (Bb).

               Sometimes there’s a low/mid E (the 9^th) that sustains and clashes against the Fs and the Bbs of the song, making b9 and triton tonalities, giving Isenfang it’s spooky melancholy.

 

 

3.  Whispering Pines

 

               Bass plays B up to F#, up to A, down to F#, down to D…then B, F#, A, F#.  Again Witan outlines minor 7 arpeggio.  Scale follows very strictly B- pentatonic scale creating a Chinese flare also reflected in the song’s haiku-ish title. 

               Main riff is A down to F#, F# E, D ,B.  Straightforward B minor pentatonic riff (B, D, E, F#, A).  A higher pitch riff loosely harmonizes and plays A, F#, E, F#. 

 

 

4.  Solitude

 

               Bass opens with B, D, C#, A.  Presents B minor flavor, but this time focusing on the C# (9^th), and leaving the riff hanging on that A note creates a suspenseful tension. 

               Keyboard chord drop: x9977x  B- triad inversion with D on the top note and F# in the lower register. 

               Ghostly moans on notes A, F#, E, and C#, sometimes (at timestamp 19:00) on G natural.  SPOO-KEY! Hanging on to that b9 interval between F# and G natural, all within the B- scale.

               This one especially is reminiscent of Harold Budd and Clive Wright’s A Song For Lost Blossoms. 

 

 

5.  AElfscinu

 

               Super fun one!  Sounds like something from Final Fantasy 7, but can’t quite put my finger on it.  We have these two lower parts harmonizing, one playing A, C, A, C back and forth.  The other D, F, D, F back and forth.  D harmonizing with A, then F with C.  It’s D-7 chord harmonizing in 5ths, sooo good..like a fluffy fresh dense insulating snow.  Guitar voiced as x5321x.  It’s a bit of a hand stretch but doable!.

               The higher riff plays D, C…A…C….    D, C,…A, E up to C then A.  The 2^nd part of this riff outlines A- triad (A, C, E) which share a lot of common notes with D-7, BUT, hits at that E natural (5^th in A-, 9^th in D-).  Super cool

 

 

6.  Langaniht

              

               Lots of trickiness going on here.  Low hum throughout the whole tune with a bunch of overtones.  From what I could approximate, it starts on F, then to Ab, then Eb…to C…G…Ab…Db…C.  The C hum has hints of E overtones.  SO that’s fun, since the song is generally outlining an F minor scale (F, G, Ab, C, Db, Eb) but E could technically work by making it F harmonic minor.  Also I didn’t notice any Bb (11^th) in here.

               At some point the hums hang on this Ab thing, like 4x4556…Ab9(b13) chord.  Then like they morph to B- briefly then C-7b5.

               Around 30:52 there’s a shrill D note…then like Eb minor major 7:  x9876x.  From here on out we are set up in a vaguely Eb- tonality with a surprise B majorish around 34:27.  This one is lots and lots of fun trying to hear out the swells/feedbacks/overtones and working out what chords are materializing from the mist. 

 

 

7.  Stillness

 

               Main riff is G down to F#, up to D, then B, then F#, then up to G.  Repeats an octave higher.

               There’s hums that hit E (13^th) here and there.  So we’re looking at G major scale (G, A, B, D, E, F#).

               Some fitting chord voicings:

xx520x (G, A, B)

3x0202 (G, D, A, B, F#)

5x4430 (A, F#, B, D, E)

               Curiously similar to Budd’s Still Return.

 

 

8.  Bygone

 

               Chord progression in like B minor tonality (kind of suspended though):

               xx997x  (B, E, F#)

               xx9979  (B, E, F#, B)

               xx9977  (B, E, F#, A)

               xx7755  (A, D, E, A)

 

               Water droplets in B minor

               Higher chords come in like:

xxx475 (B, F#, A)

some chord voiced like that but with G note in it

then like xxx002 to xxx003, G major 7 resolve up to open G major.

 

 

9.  Moonlit

 

               The main chord shape is C#-7, x45500, and the riff plays like C#, G#, E, C#, E, B…C#, G#, E, C#, E.  It’s just picking out the notes from that chord shape.

               More snowy shrieks, focusing on G# (5^th), F# (11^th) and D# (9^th)

               High riff: C#, D#, C#, B, G#, F#, G#....C#, D#, C#, B.  It’s almost like a B major pentatonic riff overtop of the C#-7 chord.  OR can be thought of as G# minor pentatonic riff.  Both ways work!

 

 

 

10.  Echoes

 

               There’s a lot of D major triad stuff, notes of focus are D, E, F#, A, B (D major pentatonic).  The bass note will drop from D to B coloring everything minor. 

 

 

11.  Cealdmor

 

               There’s octaves of E, to G#, down to C#.  Tonality oscillating between E major and C# minor.  A bit of digital (?) fuzz in the background to offer that snowy grainy ambiance.

 

12.  Lenteswefn

 

               Slow build up of this chord, notes A and G, C then B.  A to G is minor 7^th, C to B is major 7^th.  Cool 7^th idea!  This spells A-9  xx7587.  But WAIT, there’s more!  The G note blurs into F#, creating an A-13 sound..but WAIT, there’s even more!  The bass alternates between A and D notes, creating our first chord progression of the album, A- to D7, a good ol’ jazz II V.  Super neato, especially with the G/F# line gets hazy like sunned snow blowing around blindingly.  Lots of crystalline harmonies sustaining and ringing out like a pristine frost weathered lake forest.

               Some voicings that work well:

                              xx7587  (A,C,G,B)

                              x010.11.8.0 (okay this one is weird to tab out, it’s A, C, F#, G, E)

                              x05570 (A, G, C, F#, E)

 

Sufjan Stevens - Chicago

 

 

Sufjan Stevens - Chicago

Stevens @ asthmatic kitty records 

Stevens @ spotify

Stevens @ discogs.com 

|| D maj           |  A-                     |  C maj                                 |   G maj                              ||

 

Intro riff  left guitar:

 

E                                                                             3                            

B                                   3                                 1         1         1                   

G                            2          2                 0   2                  2                 

D        0    2    4                                                                                                                        

A

E

 

 

E                              7

B                         8        8        8                        8

G            7     9                 9                        7          7

D                                                     7    9                    9

A

E

 

 

Intro right guitar chord voicings:

 

E       10               8             8          7

B       10              10            8          8

G       11               9             9          7

D

A

E

 

               C major7 in the left guitar (looks like E- triad) clashes the high B note with the high C note in the C major triad of the right guitar.

               Then before the vocals come in there’s lots of pretty stuff, summarized by chord xxx537, C major 9. 

 

               Vocals:  A, A, A, A….G, G…. B, G, A…B, G, F#

               “You came to take us”: D D D D…C (with 3rds underneath: B B B B…A)

               “All things go”: E C B…D B A (with 3rds underneath: C A G…B G F#)

 

Same chord progression as Coldplay - Clocks