Review Summary: An hour in an alien rainforest
Let’s get the easy part out of the way: if you have not seen it, you have at least heard of Akira. If you have indeed not seen it, I urge you to do so because if there is one thing it does do, it is make an impression. This is due, in no insignificant part, to the sounds that Geinoh Yamashirogumi created for the film. I say sounds, because much of the material has an eerily otherworldly nature to it. Much of that nature is also found here on Ecophony Gaia, even if it is brighter.
Here, the track divisions aren’t really to divide songs, but journeys. Each piece of the album ends in a completely different place from where it began. The most straightforward opus, “Disco,” sees the band at its most effervescent and accessible with synthesizers and electric drums taking lead, and the multicultural elements serving more as melodic support. “Genesis”, “Euphony” and “Gaia” are more “slow burn” euphoric epics with extensive field samples and large choirs softly cooing the melodies. The mixture of diverse styles is neither haphazard nor mundane. It is mystical like a rainforest after a heavy storm from within euphonic chants echo; the chants of alien entities who are both comforting and menacing. Even the opener “Chaos” has a temperate side to complement the danger.
Geinoh Yamashirogumi, whom has seen more than 40 years, is still rather obscure despite the high profile Akira gig, and their stunningly well constructed music. Their most recent record seems to have been Ougorin Sanyo in 2000. While that is quite some time to go without new material on the market, this band, or massive outfit of hundreds of people, is no less deserving of recognition than any single musician who attempts similar ideas and styles. Despite the complex arrangements, there is an apparent effortlessness to each composition. Melodies and motifs come and go without feeling forced or misplaced. Geinoh Yamashirogumi epitomizes the idea of making it look easy.
I have listened to this record dozens of times in recent memory (it makes for great working music), yet it still feels like a stranger to me. There is so much here that you will miss on first listen: the layers of field recordings, the pipes and percussion far in the background, even the pockets of silence may pass before you realize. For an hour journey, it is over in a moment and you immediately will want to embark again to see what you can find this time.
