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Miki Yui
Oscilla


3.5
great

Review

by Jots EMERITUS
November 6th, 2015 | 35 replies


Release Date: 2015 | Tracklist


Miki Yui’s music is best enjoyed loud - like, really loud. If her debut, Small Sounds, was any indication, Yui tends towards lowercase, shedding light on almost unnoticeable noises and revealing their intricate nature. In accordance, Oscilla balances electroacoustic ear candy with doctored field recordings, and can be wholly natural, fabricated, or somewhere in between where it really doesn’t matter. For whatever reason, cranking the dial and placing yourself in solitude, circled in speakers, is ideal. Oscilla features some of the best tonal manipulation 2015 can attest to, teasing the peripherals. Rarely are any two moments the same, yet the album feels like a single organism despite the wide array of techniques. Within a span of sixty seconds, one could expect fluid dub, jar scrapes, wood blocks, piercing synths, and probably-mechanical-yet-possibly-real bird noises (attempting to describe the track “Acryla”, here; most of these sounds really just need to be heard). Somehow, everything makes sense.

The style's best composers beg to speculate whether they poured over their projects compulsively, or erected them effortlessly; Yui’s sounds are so carefree and openhanded, it’s easy to forget it’s been a half-decade since we last saw her. There’s certainly a feeling of homecoming, and a bagful of spoils to show for her travels. Some of the concepts feel far-flung, yet harvested and packaged with care. Yui decorates the tracks passionately, with ornate details stitched and stowed in every possible inch of free space, yet without stifling anything. The titular “Oscilla” is surprisingly rhythmic, with acid-treated bass lines that pop with every string press. Follow-up “Animatoscope” takes note, delivering an infectious, groovy synth line before segueing beautifully into an whir of nature sounds, synthetic applause, and an ear-tickling menagerie. As with the previous track, there’s a special emphasis on that brief moment right before a string rings its note. A catalyst that often goes unnoticed - Miki Yui has always enjoyed spotlighting the little things.

Oscilla navigates a fairly compact format in a way that challenges its dimensions - meaning: within small runtimes, Yui maneuvers a slew of angles, covering ground that takes many artists twice as long to do so convincingly. She never really dwells on any sort of “sweet spot” - instead, the album flows freshly, ever-changing and always delightful. In what is a very asymmetrical listen, there always seems to be a balance between subtle nuances and immediately-rewarding hooks. Penultimate “Gumb” warps and loops, cutting off and glitching out; yet beneath the charming misfires are gingerly-placed instruments and soothing industrial hums. Closer “Namitayu” consolidates everything perfectly, both turbulent and serene. There’s a sort of delicate tension, like waiting for the final leaf to drop - in Miki Yui’s world, it falls like a sledgehammer.



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user ratings (5)
3
good


Comments:Add a Comment 
Jots
Emeritus
November 6th 2015


7583 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

http://www.mikiyui.com/oscilla.html

dunno if there's an actual stream for this anywhere, but i'll poke around

thanks treeqt for uh lending me that copy : ]

edit: and highest honours to sach for giving me an idea for the pivotal "ear candy" descriptor

Lord(e)Po)))ts
November 6th 2015


70256 Comments


bet u tree, sach and jasi would love this



Lord(e)Po)))ts
November 6th 2015


70256 Comments


because japan

Jots
Emeritus
November 6th 2015


7583 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

oddly, i'm pretty sure this girl is from germany. born in japan, but german for the past like 20 years or something

Jots
Emeritus
November 6th 2015


7583 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

you said "EAI ear candy" and i made it roll off the tongue better ; ]

Lord(e)Po)))ts
November 6th 2015


70256 Comments


oddly, i'm pretty sure this girl is from germany. born in japan, but german for the past like 20 years or something


ok so confirmed for trees aoty

Jots
Emeritus
November 6th 2015


7583 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

they might be the same person ¯_(ツ)_/¯



sach - i don't feel like explaining it so i'll just credit ya, so stfu

Lord(e)Po)))ts
November 6th 2015


70256 Comments


agreed

Lord(e)Po)))ts
November 6th 2015


70256 Comments


on all of the things



Archael
November 6th 2015


1163 Comments


Aww yeah, been waitin for this.

Jasdevi087
November 6th 2015


8163 Comments


bet u tree, sach and jasi would love this


oddly, i'm pretty sure this girl is from germany. born in japan, but german for the past like 20 years or something

damn, misses the cut for aoty then.

ScuroFantasma
Emeritus
November 6th 2015


12196 Comments


Another great review Johnny

treeqt.
November 6th 2015


16970 Comments


this is dance music tbh

Jots
Emeritus
November 6th 2015


7583 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

thnx for reading, scuro

sach - i wasn't nuts for it th first couple listens, but i think you'll warm up to it a smidge

treeqt.
November 6th 2015


16970 Comments


i only listened once so far 👀

Jots
Emeritus
November 6th 2015


7583 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

I listened a bunch but I also had a hard time finding words for this so it took me longer to decide where I stood

treeqt.
November 6th 2015


16970 Comments


yeah i would have had to too if i wrote a review

Shostako
November 7th 2015


10 Comments


love the first paragraph

Jots
Emeritus
November 7th 2015


7583 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

ty, ty

Jots
Emeritus
November 7th 2015


7583 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

ah yes the elusive Sachiko 3, Miki Yui might have a career yet !



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