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.

 

Michael Brook/Brian Eno/Daniel Lanois – Hybrid

 

 

Michael Brook - Hybrid

Michael Brook @ spotify 

Michael Brook @ discogs.com

 

 

the vibrating air

of unknown lands, wading through

dense humidity

 

 

Lots of this album is in keys between two pitches, keys based on microtones.  Prolly what contributes to the otherworldly atmosphere!

 

 

1.  Hybrid

 

               Esoteric dilapidated sculptures of swans guard the Aztec temple; and island centered in mosquito infested swamps.  Thick heavy air shrouds secrets kept within.  An undocumented tribe worships in the distance playing loose, booming drums made from the earth itself.  Dense forest but open sky.

 

               We’re set up with a drone in the key of between E and F.  On guitar, slightly bend up from an E note, that’s the key!  Crazy!  A synth melody appears, plays mostly off the notes F, Eb, and D...the root, b7 and 6…suggesting a mixolydian or dorian scale, but since no third is ever played there’s no true quality of major or minor.  Both mixolydian and dorian have a feeling of voyage or journey.  The vagueness here is cool, so much mystery!

               The synth melody rarely goes beyond that note range, mostly floats around among F, Eb, and D, sometimes goes to C or G.  It plays like an Indiana raga.  Some riffs towards the end lean into blues scale, briefly (C blues scale…not sure?)

               Tribal drums come in that have a verbal quality to them, ancient vocalizations, “Ooga Aaga!”.

Between the Indian raga style melody and the microtonal key, Hybrid paints a land very foreign.

 

 

 

2.  Distant Village

              

               Lonely languid current swaying between wooden pagodas, rippling as each tear falls.  Wooden beams leaning out of the water splintered yet dull with time.  Rounded wind worn architecture silently whispers with the breeze.  A fisherman with a straw hat and simple pole.  Nocturnal insects choir on the perimeter.

              

More clearly than previously, Distant village is in Eb minor pentatonic  Swirling 4ths that fade into the distance.  The slight phaser/chorus that fades into the background create a feeling of age, of a far away civilization of time past, and the pentatonic 4^th harmonies suggest an Asian culture, calling on their traditional music styles. 

 

 

3.  Mimosa

              

               Crescent bubbling of an otherwise still layered sunrise.  A vessel with 8 eyes, waiting patiently. 

 

               An otherworldly key pitched between B and C.  Melody in marimba plays with notes B, F# and F.  Ungrounded key, wonky tritone melody, marimba with lots of overtones making it hard to pin down a definitive pitch.

               Synth pads come in seem to be in key of between B and C Aeolian. 

               There’s a swirling of the drink in the glass and carbonation around 1:40.  The carbonation synths are major arpeggios, I think major I chords!  A pad shines by accentuating a major 9^th note.

               At 2:34 the mood changes to creepy harmonic minor tension in the piano melody, sometimes ending on the dramatic minor 9^th note.

               The opening marimba returns too.  Totally perplexed with this one, very strange vibes.  Is it a tropical glass?  The funky marimba symbolizing the orange origins of the fruit…the harmonic minor eeriness symbolizing a depressive tipsy thought filled mind?

              

 

4.  Pond Life

              

               A pond with bright fish.  Insects skipping on the surface of the pond.  Stagnant, murky, scummy unbothered liminal puddle dotted anonymously in the world.  Perspective from being partially submerged and being eye level with the water line; seeing both above and under the surface at once

              

               Immediately we hear:

                              -reeling tape like sound in the back

                              -background static

                              -bird calls

                              -soaring mournful dove (?) calls

                              -cicadas

                              -chirping crickets

 

               I’m assuming these nature sounds are all man-made, and that this song is not a field recording.  Unbelievable.

Somehow, Ab major pentatonic works well over this?

                             

 

 

5.  Ocean Motion

              

               The humming, shimmering untamed waters of the sea blurring vertically with overcast storm telling skies.  Undulating freely. 

              

               In the key of “Sea” minor ha ha ha, nice pun Michael Brook.

               Steady pulse of a metronome feels like a buoy, but also sets up a flowing rhythm.  Notice the churning rhythm of the synthesizer pad chords.  I think they accent the quarter note. 

               A lot of voicings end in Eb. (the major 3^rd of the key).  Maybe creating a sense of melancholy hope?  Eb, the major note, ringing through the seas of minor.

               The high piano notes meld ripple into the ocean waves.  At times there are sustained suspended chords, emphasizing notes D and G, the 9^th and the 5^th.  The 5^th helps stabilize the harmony, the 9^th is pure flavor, but no 3^rd or 7^th to suggest a chord quality.

 

 

6.  Midday

 

               Death’s insistent aging made light of by daily mundanities, like a broad July sky over asphalt.

 

               Right off the bat, the clock tik toks setting up a feeling of dragging time.

               Hearing notes like Bb, C, Eb, F, Ab.  Tonality settled between Bb and B.  Not hearing any 3rds (Db or D).  So it’s not major or minor. 

               Wiggly side bass is humorous.

               Midday heat summer frogs in the background, and synths, create a picture of vast stretching humidity.

               Synthesizer towards the ending (4:35 and on) is like the yawning/screaming/wailing of the mind trying to break out of a mundane, lightly torturous and inconsequential day.  An office worker yelling in their head, imprisoned and waiting clock out.

 

 

7.  Earth Floor

 

               Twisted fossils…deep remains….holy minerals…inconsequential stuff…rotting death…rotting past below…gives way for new life, for a new change at existence. 

 

               Very weird.  Key of between D and Eb minor.  Tons of half step harmonies here between b9 and natural 9, and between natural 9 and b3.  Also between natural 4 and #4, and #4 and 5.

               The tribal drum from the beginning of the album comes back, lower pitched now.  Heavier. 

               Faint acoustic guitar and piano in the background!

 

 

8.  Vacant

 

               The Mojave Desert bending with heat.  Each grain of sand a boiling stone.  Sporadic scampering of nondescript creatures.    Link a budd song to this  SUBTLE RESOLVE, prolly the only track that actually resolves?

 

               Melody plays with C Lydian notes, C, G, F#, and E.  Lots of play between F# and G.  Sometimes B!  Similar melodic ideas as the first song, Indian raga feel.

               Spring peepers are in the background, the soaring bird calls.  Lotsa microtones in bent notes (F# to G). 

               Guitar drone in far background playing C note and the open B string. 

               Possibly some screeching echoed background notes made by using a guitar slide off the fret board!

 

               And the humid sighs drift into the further unknown, putting an end to The Pearl's companion album.