Japanese electronic music and sound artist Kee Yawne’s debut recording landed earlier this month. It’s a consistently strong effort. The eight pieces featured point to a level of compositional maturity seldom found on first-time recordings.
Yawne’s release is filed under TMRPOE (an acronym for “the most remote place on earth”). Keep Sleeping is suitably titled – the album goes down like a holistic sedative.
What’s initially striking is its simplicity. In fact, it’s deceptively complex. Opener “The Others” begins with a gentle drone, not unlike a recording by The Glass Orchestra. And yet despite Yawne’s ability to maintain an even, subtle keel throughout the track, the piece grows increasingly intricate as it progresses.
“Ameno” marries gentle electronics with a gorgeous field recording featuring a forest full of peeps and chirps. It’s been done a thousand times of course, but surrounded by the album’s other seven tracks, it delivers a solid contribution.
The album’s title track is the most surprising when studied up close. Coming out of “Ameno,” “Keep Sleeping” sounds like an invitation to do exactly that. In fact, Yawne has built a detailed, darkish ambient piece complete with subtle (so subtle you might even miss it) distortion effects. It’s a lovely work.
Later, “Psamathe” and “Little Cream Soda” offer a similar grittiness. Great stuff.
Keep Sleeping is available as a digital download and as a sharp-looking purple cassette. Forty were produced, eight are left.