Happy Family - 2025 - 4037

(21:23; Cuneiform Records)

I have not seen the physical CD of this release, but I can only hope it includes the notes from each member of the band, as they are incredibly interesting. After the 2014 ‘Minimal Gods’ tour they needed a break, and somehow that break lasted for ten years and could still be going on until today if not for Cuneiform Records’ boss  Steve Feigenbaum asking the guys if they would like to be involved in the fortieth anniversary of that august label. Consequently Kenichi Morimoto (keyboards), Takahiro Izutani (guitar), Hidemi Ichikawa (bass) and Keiichi Nagase (drums) found themselves in a rehearsal studio for the first time in ten years and it was as if they had never been apart.

The title comes from the 40 years of Cuneiform, along with the 37 years of Happy Family (although in fairness they had a 15-year break before the last album, so plus the ten from recently they have been apart from than they have been together), and the concept was that each of the band would compose an instrumental track. This in itself was a new way of working, and the result is something where each track is very different indeed yet also brought together by the togetherness of Happy Family. When it comes to Zeuhl/RIO there are few which match their use of space and jagged melodies, and it is difficult to understand that Morimoto didn’t touch an instrument for nearly ten years before starting to play Henry Cow pieces for relaxation (needless to say, his track “The Flying Man” is very much in that style).

This is a wonderful release, and let’s hope they keep it going and we get another full release soon, and that we don’t have to wait five years for the next one (15, 10, 5?). 

Kev Rowland, September 2025

Links:
http://www.cuneiformrecords.com/