Itoken / Klimperei / Frank Pahl - 2023 - IKP

(52:50; Cuneiform Records)

I always get excited when a promo arrives from Cuneiform as I know my musical experience is going to be somewhat expanded, and that is definitely what happened here. IKP is Itoken (Kenji Ito, Harpy, etc.) Klimperei (Christophe Petchanatz, etc.) and Frank Pahl (Little Bang Theory, Scavenger Quartet, etc). Kenji answers to Itoken, Christophe answers to Klimperei and Frank answers to Frank because he’s never adopted a cool stage name. Individually they have collaborated with a wide range of musicians including Otomo Yoshihide, Tadahiko Yokogawa, Eugene Chadbourne, Amy Denio, Pierre Bastien, David Fenech, Shugo Tokumaru, Ferdinand Richard, Luc Houtkamp, Nick Didkovsky, Daevid Allen, Grimo, Harpy, Anthony Moore, Only a Mother, Shaking Ray Levis, Voxfazer, Madame Patate, Brian Poole, etc. Itoken and Frank have collaborated on and off for more than 20 years, while Frank and Christophe have released albums together (albeit they have never been in the same room at the same time) so with the advent of the pandemic it seemed like a good idea for the three of them to record an album. I have no idea who plays what, as the three are just credited as “all instruments”, and I am also not exactly sure what is played as while some are instantly recognisable, others not so much, but there is no doubt we have a mix of Japanese and French influences along with classic black and white musicals. While RIO is an obvious starting place there is also so much more going on and when looking at how they have tagged themselves we can see they have also included adventurous music, experimental, jazz, art rock, electronic music, musical, toys, prog, and toypop. That they are using toys within the sound is both strange and makes sense, as I know I recognise the glockenspiel on “From Here To There” as I am sure one of my girls had it.

There are 19 pieces on this album, but the running time is only 53 minutes with quite a few less than two minutes long. The album has a rather strange feeling about it as in many ways it feels very grown up as they mix complex arrangements with RIO tendencies, but some of the instruments they use mean it has quite a childlike feeling to it as well. Somehow the result is accessible and makes me smile while also being out there and very strange all at the same time. It is important to come to this album with no preconceived ideas whatsoever and instead just go where the music takes you, and for me it was a very pleasurable ride indeed. There is no doubt this will be quite a polarising release, and the vast majority of “music” lovers will just not get it at all, but if you are open minded and looking for new adventures then there is much here to enjoy.

Kev Rowland, April 2024

Links:
http://www.itoken-web.com/
http://klimperei.free.fr/
https://frankpahl.bandcamp.com/
http://www.cuneiformrecords.com/