YANEKA - All in the air

Brother and sister Yuichiro and Chiyako from Nara became YANEKA in 2005. At first they performed a mix of folk, ambient and shoegaze electronic music in London clubs before branching out into the rest of Europe. Their third album, All in the air, came out on 18th May and is the first to be released on a major label.

All in the air heralds a departure from the styles of the previous two albums, ROOTS and You're Free. They were more acoustic and folksy with electronic overtones, whilst their latest offering is vice versa. This is apparent right from the offset in the chilly intro Catastrophic: just under two minutes of what appears to be guitar distortion recreating eerie windswept desolation. Then the thudding electronic beats, commonly heard in old '80s dance music, and an electric guitar loop introduce the following song, So cold. Other layers join it to create a more contemporary rock sound. Almost all of it is down to guitarist and programmer Yuichiro, who as usual has utilised huge numbers of recorded sound loops and only borrowed a drummer and bassist for anything else. Vocalist Chiyako's smooth voice warms the track somewhat, with its clear and unwavering tone. She has been trained in the traditional Japanese "Naga-uta" singing style, which accompanies kabuki dance. She showcases impressive leaps across the full vocal range, sustained high notes and the strong, quivering vibrato associated with the classical form which she mixes with more conventional Western vocals in her performing and writing.

Chiyako is also the lyricist and writes in Japanese, English or her own created language. Tricky moment has been written in English. Pain, loss and confusion are emphasised by the cold guitar strums and a raw, grating noise produced by running the side of a plectrum along the steel strings. Halfway through the song erupts into a frenzy of drums and the wailing of both guitar and human, which would appeal to fans of the electronic/experimental rock group Massive Attack. Line 14 takes on many of the similar effects as Tricky moment, making full use of many hypnotic loops to create a deep shoegaze rock track.

There are more experimental or alternative tracks on the CD as well. Paradoxal is like a siren song, alluring with an undercurrent of danger. Chiyako's breathy voice is given a large amount of reverberation, giving it an imposing yet bewitching quality against the heavy drum beats. A crackling loop effect, like listening to a pot boiling underwater, accentuates the surrealism and the song flips from subdued to crazed and back again unsettlingly. The paranoid 11 mind's eyes is more minimalist, with only a repeating guitar part and a lethargic drum beat to keep Chiyako's voice company for the most part. She takes the spotlight in this track, her high and swooping notes sorrowful as if in a mourning song. In contrast Less is more shows off the band's wilder side with its tribal beat. Only a low Middle-Eastern style drone on Yuichiro's guitar, evidence of their interest in world music, accompanies the drum beat. The attention is focussed more on Chiyako's eerie chant-like singing delivered in a higher register, which ends in a cacophanous frenzy. They have played around with sounds to find the perfect effect and timbre; Yuichiro has reported that to obtain one of the samples used in this track he rubbed the arm of a chair.

The longest track on the album, Abstraction, takes a while to get going but is a worthwhile auditory experience. As with the preceding tracks it begins with only one lonesome line of melody, played by Yuichiro. Others join in gradually: a rapid snare loop, then a rumbling rhythmic bass drum, joined after two minutes by the breathy, soothing tones of Chiyako and finally the bass guitar to round things off. The odd accidental note thrown into the vocal mix disturbs the otherwise mellow overtone. After the first five minutes, Yuichiro overlays his characteristic layers of sound for a powerful climax.

Calm and moving moments come in the form of The origin and the closing track, All in the air. The former is a vast and epic piece supported by a powerful pulse-like beat; an expression of the earthly and tangible, of the origin of ourselves and life. The latter is more ethereal and spiritual in nature. It has a delicate beauty like something you might expect to be ringing out around a cathedral, and is utterly absorbing and eye-opening.

Diverse and imaginative, All in the air is a worthy addition to YANEKA's discography. It ventures into newer, experimental territory without ever losing sight of the band's roots in folk and traditional musical composition and techniques. Fans of their other works have much to admire, and it is also the perfect record for a new listener to venture into their world. Looking at the joys and tragedies of life in equal measure, it is an enlightening journey.