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/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thirteen of Everything - 2023 - Time and Other Delusions

Image
(68:22; Basement Avatar Records) Track list: 1. Timeline 8:57 2. Alternate Life 12:02 3. Where the Time Goes 5:32 4. The Penultimate Flight of Armando the Pigeon 7:11 5. The King of Istanbul 10:35 6. Warmth and Darkness 7:32 7. Count All the Days 16.33 Line-up: Brett Cosby - guitars Mick Peters - Chapman stick, bass, pedals, vocals Ted Thomas - drums, percussion, vocals Bob Villwock - keyboards with: Thad Miller - keyboards Prolusion. US band Thirteen of Everything has been a going concern for a bit over 20 years, releasing their initial demo back in 2002 with official albums following in 2005 and 2019 respectively. Following what has been a brief pause between albums for this band they are now preparing to launch their third studio album "Time and Other Delusions", which will be released on US label Basement Avatar Records. Analysis. In terms of the different variations one can find in the progressive rock universe, Thirteen of Everything resides safely inside the symphonic ...
Read more

Deaton Lemay Project - 2022 - The Fifth Element

Image
(63:04; Deaton Lemay Project) Track list: 1. The Great Awakening 5:32 2. A Different Place in Time 7:24 3. Dragonfly 3:35 4. The Nightmare 4:28 5. Exordium 6:24 - Elements of Life Suite 6. Overture 4:43 7. Fire 6:10 8. Water 6:11 9. Air 4:19 10. Earth 6:53 11. Music 7:25 Line-up: Roby Deaton - keyboards, guitars, vocals Craig LeMay - drums, percussion with: Hadi Kiani - vocals Ehsan Imani - guitars Josh Mark Raj - guitars John Haddad - bass Charles Berthoud - bass Liza Evans - violin Prolusion. US band DEATON LEMAY PROJECT started out officially back in 2018, following a 25 year long period of gestation. They released their debut album "Day After Yesterday" in 2019, and following what I suspect has been a rather busy planning and recording period during the years of the pandemic the creative twosome of Deaton and Lemay are back with their second album "The Fifth Element" at the start of 2022. Analysis. While the fifth element apparently used to be defined as aether ...
Read more

Jay Graboski - 2023 - Authentic Fake

Image
(77:11; Oho Music) Track list: 1. In Dotage 3:55 2. Season of Extremes 3:54 3. 28721 3:38 4. Dot on Your Door 4:55 5. Die Before You Die 4:00 6. Hidden Agenda 4:43 7. Out on a Limb 3:58 8. Mired in Malaise? 3:00 9. Cosmos of the Soul 3:51 10. The Hours 5:32 11. Frog Legs 2:41 12. Metaphors 3:28 13. The Witness Watchers 3:41 14. Authentic Fake 3:05 15. Your Luck is Awake 4:43 16. The Crown 3:51 17. The Doomed Princess 4:01 18. St. Judas 4:12 19. Where Words Do Not Reach 3:28 20. Well, I'll Be 2:35 Line-up: Jay Graboski - vocals, guitars, bass, percussion, glockenspiel with: Dale German - guitars Ray Jozwiak - accordion, keyboards, bass, Moog Dave Kelly - guitars, programming, keyboards, percussion Julie Keough - backing vocals Harry Maben - drums Patrick McAvinue - fiddle Gene Meros - saxophones Bill Phelan - backing vocals, guitars, mandolin, recorder Bill Pratt - keyboards, backing vocals, horn arrangements David Reeve - drums, percussion, keyboards Gyro J. Scope - sequencing Prol...
Read more