The release I’ve been most keenly anticipating all year has finally arrived in the form of City Centre Offices new release Where We’re From The Birds Sing A Pretty Song by Yasume. Yasume is the collaborative work of the UK’s John Twells (otherwise known as Xela, whose sublime album For
Frosty Mornings and Summer Nights was released earlier this year through Neo Ouija) and California’s Gabriel Morley (otherwise known as Logreybeam). A hint of the artistry present on this release was available in the form of a remix by Yasume on the recently released Metamatics: Rewired In My Manor remix compilation released through Hydrogen Dukebox. This track was one of the highlights of the year for me, and this new album more than lives up to its potential.
John and Gabriel spent well over 12 months sculpting, texturing and forensically fine-tuning these eight tracks, and the hard work and attention to detail pays off magnificently. “Peculiar Fascination” has been swirling through my headphones for many, many months now – one of only three examples of Yasume’s work that I had at my disposal for some considerable time. It’s a very fine example of the razor-sharp talent that has resulted from the successful collaborative efforts of John and Gabriel. Complex but always comprehensible it contains the perfect combination of clicks, glitches and rhythms fused seamlessly with delicate, memorable melodies forged from a wide array of ethereal sounds. “2112 Crescent Heights” is another example of this perfect balance, featuring soft, out of focus pads against a milieu of clicks, pops and
scratches and a delicate, shimmering female vocal sample.
An almost classical influence can be heard on many of these tracks and the mood and tone of the music shifts effortlessly from moment to moment. “Rengoku (Condensed),” for instance, begins with a heavily distorted ringing telephone and a Japanese voice over fuzzy, defocused clicks and pops arranged with amazing precision. Chilly to being with, it slowly heats through with the addition of layers of warm but oddly misty, swooning strings.
You’ll hear many a comment about the inspiration for this album stemming from Twin Peaks, from the waiting room depicted on the cover to the album title and track titles like “When Audrey Dances,” and whilst I’m relatively unfamiliar with it, the clean, icy and mysterious atmospherics of the album counter-pointed by lush, introspective melodies would seem to bear this out. The final moments of an album will always leave a lasting impression, and Where We’re From… terminates especially memorably: “Triumph of Two” is a masterpiece of shifting ambient textures and looped, evocative melody. Keeping the glitch quotient to a minimum for the album’s swansong, “Trumph of two” is one of those tracks that you just don’t want to end. As the melody sweeps through different environment’s it takes on different characters and moods, from cloud enshrouded mountain peaks through echoing, cathedral-like spaces.
Where We’re From… is an amazing debut release. It has unique character, depth and precision and is indeed, one of the finest releases of the year. We can only hope that there will be more to come from this inspired collaboration.
Where We’re From The Birds Sing A Pretty Song is OUT NOW on City Centre Offices.
