Neohachi :: Lovecadio Hearn (White Paddy Mountain)

Lovecadio Hearn is joyful and colourful and incomparable.

“Neo” something, that’s for sure. Neo, but not the least bit pseudo. Neohachi is a ”fancy and comical electro unit” (darling!) using “hand operated synthesizers” (hilarious!) to hand-stitch some kind of utterly singular neo-fourth world music with a dash of the kosmische. Its debut album is dedicated to author Lafcadio Hearn, a remarkable 19th century literary figure of international citizenship whose impressionistic beat stretched from Cleveland and New Orleans to Martinique and finally landed him in Japan.

Founded in 2005 in Tokyo by Lily on Shigin vocals (chanted poetry) and Elly (synthesizers), the duo was later joined by drummer Tatsuhisa Yamamoto. Released on his newly-hatched White Paddy Mountain label, Chihei Hatakeyama also adds some very sweet electric guitar on two tracks.

Each number on Lovecadio Hearn is fanciful clash of civilizations—Japanese and German, musical and literary, Baroque and ambient—that never goes awry. A hair rock guitar solo abides in Edenesque harmony with dream pop refrains, the “true sustainer” harmonies of “Sat Naraya” gently coax open the lotus of instrumental dreamworld “Good Music.” Lovecadio Hearn is joyful and colourful and incomparable. Nestling cosily in Neohachi’s hands, the mind reels.

Lovecadio Hear is available on White Paddy Mountain.