Kyoto-based sound artist / percussionist / Array Mbira player Kita Kouhei's 5th solo album "Mime Sketch" will be released for the first time in 3 years!
Rhythm sense and unique expressiveness of exceptional talent. It is a precise and free ambient art that made full use of the rare instrument Array Mbira, the artistic and unique rhythm sense drawn like an abstract painting is a must-listen!
Do you know an instrument called Array Mbira?
It was made to order by a craftsman in San Diego, USA, and there are still only a few in Japan. As for the mechanism, it seems to be close to the oversized version of the musical instrument "Kalimba" called Mbira in Africa.
Kita Kouhei's 5th solo album "Mime Sketch" has been released. He is one of the few ArrayMbira players who entertain the fresh tone of ArrayMbira in various ways and is a sound artist and percussionist in Kyoto, Japan.
The soundscape born from the quiet introspection, if you think it had fallen into the darkness of the heart, floats up to the sky. It was supposed to be very personal, and eventually, it goes beyond the distinction between "oneself" and "someone else" and continues to connect and spread freely. All of the carefully selected sounds centered around ArrayMbira become delicate fine particles that permeate and smooth out the wrinkles of the shrunken heart.
In addition, Mamiko Hirai, a pianist and musician who has worked on a lot of music for movies, CM / TV programs, etc. and has outstanding playing ability to bring music to life, participated in this work as a guest. A pure, unrestrained, sometimes quiet, butoh-like performance that explodes with passion, adding color to this work along with the singing of the three birds that live with her.
And, like all the solo works so far, the mastering will welcome world-famous ambient drone artist Chihei Hatakeyama. The chorus and the title of all songs will be devised by Takayama Naoko (coconoe). Kita Kouhei creates the artwork design that evokes the sound image more deeply.
Kita Kouhei Profile:
Born in 1976, a musician, percussionist, and Array Mbira player living in Kyoto. An artist who creates a unique sound landscape that fuses live musical instruments and electronic music by making full use of the piano that he has been familiar with since childhood, the aesthetic sensibility of paintings that he has always spent with, and the skills of professional percussionists. He also works on commercials, documentary programs, avant-garde stage performances and music for art events.
all songs written, composed, performed, mixed and produced by kita kouhei recorded at studio guzli, kyoto, japan 2019-2021
except : chorus, voice (track 2, 3) and all songs titled by takayama naoko a.k.a. carneiro
voice and purring sound (track 3, 5) by cello the cat
electric bass (track 3) by shingo mimura
chorus (track 3) by saori tsutsumi
chorus (track 3) and photo by tano shirou a.k.a. najuta
child laughter (track 3) by yamada kai
piano, prepared piano (track 6, 7) by mamiko hirai
voice (track 6, 7) by matinée, journée, soirée
mastered by chihei hatakeyama
artwork drawn by kita yukie
artwork designed by kita kouhei
artwork supported by matsuoka akiko
neuf is a Kyoto and Kobe,Japan based ambient/electronica/pop/post-classical music label established as an individual label of "coconoe" and members' other projects.
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