takeo toyama - Etudes
Takeo Toyama's Hello 88 remains as one of Karaoke Kalk's best loved titles, and this latest from the Japanese artist deserves a similarly warm reception. After a fairly unassuming introduction in the form of 'Tremolo', the album really starts to leave its mark with the spidery piano soloing of 'Gauche', which is part modern jazz, part baroque chamber piece. It comes as some surprise then that the next track sounds more like a fairground ride gone horribly wrong: 'Drawing' brings toy organ into play, stumbling through creepy discordance for thirty seconds or so before abruptly coming to a halt. On a chirpier note 'Bobbin' brings together strings, marimba and melodica for a fine piece of playroom neo-classicism while 'Troll' introduces lurid organ tones and bossa-box rhythms. Etudes is an album that manages to avoid the sugary sweetness that occasionally undoes Karaoke Kalk releases, taking a more sophisticated and unstable approach to harmony than so many other home listening jaunts in this spirit.































CD // £10.99

FLAC Download // £8.99
MP3 Download // £6.99
FLAC Download // £8.99











MP3 Download // £6.99
FLAC Download // £8.99
LP // £13.99











