Former Cibo Matto vocalist Miho Hatori sheds her old skin and starts anew.
Ecdysis is Miho Hatori's (former vocalist of the band Cibo Matto) debut solo album. The album was released in Japan last year, and now its Europe's turn as the CD will be released on October 23rd on the US label Rykodisc.
'Ecdysis' is the Latin word for the process of insects shedding their skin and continuing with a new skin. It seems that Miho Hatori did the same: leaving the old things behind and started anew, looking for a new style which is evident in the variation in the melodies, (exotic) grooves and instruments on the album.
It’s hard to describe the album with just a few words. Jazzy, dreamy, maybe psychedelic are a few words that could be used to describe the vibe of the album. Next to that, we could also use the terms 'electronic pop' and 'world music'. Confusing and vague? Those words could be used to describe the album too. I guess that I got a rather bad impression when I first listened to the album. "Where on earth is it going?" I wondered as I tried to grab onto the melodies and rhythms that floated from my speakers. However, after I listened to the album a few more times, I came to the conclusion that it wasn't as vague as I first thought. In fact the album is after a few listenings is a very enjoyable record indeed.
The first track is also named Ecdysis, a dreamy song slightly similar to Björk’s music. Miho’s high-pitched voice wanders lamenting throughout the song. Her almost childlike vocals have a particular thick sounding Japanese accent which adds charm to the piece.
A Song for Kids, is just like the title says; a playful, merry sounding song for kids. It’s the only Japanese song on the record, as the rest of the songs are all in English.
Barracuda is one of those songs that seem so impalpable, the samba rhythm and the harmonies almost seem to be dissonant, but when blended together, the song has a very nice groove. When listening to this song, it is easy to imagine a native tribe dancing around a fire for some kind of ritual.
Both The Spirit of Juliet and Walking City have a sci-fi theme. The first is a slow song is about a cyborg with wind instruments featuring heavily throughout the song. The second song, Walking city is about massive mobile robots in which cities are built. In this song, Miho imagines what it would be like if this would really happen. Because of the upbeat rhythm and the spoken lyrics from the perspective of a child, it does seem to have a touch of a macabre feeling to it: "my dad is an inspector of messages from insects now humans lost how to get that".
The album contains two versions of Sweet Samsara. The first one is a slow song, the second is much faster. Both have a bossa nova rhythm. They seem like two complete different songs, and they don't really sound alike except for the lyrics.
The River of 3 Crossings is a personal favourite song of the album. It's a quite slow, dreamy song with a bossa nova rhythm, complete with 'oh-oh' sounds. It has a very melancholic and floating atmosphere to it.
Conclusion: a great album. In contrast to the usual all pop-tunes and predictable songs you hear every day on albums, it's incredibly good to hear someone who just does what she feels like without trying to please the big crowd.
However, if you do like predicable pop-tunes, you will probably not like this particular album. But if you're looking for something new and original, I definitely recommend Ecdysis to you!
