You, the Deer and the Darkness – Kenji Araki releases his new album “Chess Hope” – The Gap

On the new album “Hope Chess,” Kenji Araki stretches out the tracks until the threads from which their musical web is woven emerge.

Rhythm and pitch are actually the same thing, but in different scales. Regarding the sound, this is one of the most fascinating facts for me. If the distances between them become smaller and smaller with the continuous beats, this leads to higher and higher tones. Because a tone is nothing more than a vibration, a regular rhythm – from 120 times per minute to 20,000 times per second. This also works in reverse. If you separate the wavy line from one note long enough, it becomes a beat again.

Kenji Araki He dares to try a similar experience in his latest album, “Hope Chess.” Instead of separating individual notes, Kenji stretches entire pieces of music until the threads from which the musical web is woven become visible. Vocals, synths, isolated drums, and vocals of all kinds are given unexpected room to expand and take up space. Since the individual layers stand out clearly and can stand on their own, it also becomes clear how this fabric is woven. Where Kenji deconstructed, twisted, distorted and reassembled the basic elements of electronics from his predecessor “Leidenzwang”, this time the music is deconstructed by becoming translucent and translucent.

in depth

This is most evident on the track “Glitter”, which is one of the few songs that has a clear, consistent beat. Resting heart rate is just over 50, bordering on bradycardia. Like a clock that ticks very slowly. Just fast enough to be a beat and not a rhythmic element, but still annoying in its slowness. The beats, almost menacing, pull you into the depths, so that the echo of Anthea’s vocals sounds like an underground cave system.

Overall, “Chess of Hope” appears spherical due to its large area, but at the same time it is dark and heavy. The album cover literally hits the mark. In the middle of the night on a deserted road, only headlights illuminate the darkness and a deer runs ahead of you. You quickly follow the walk. Just you, the deer and the endless darkness all around you.

“Hope Chess” album by the artist Kenji Araki It will be published on November 10, 2023 Aven Records.