SAWAKO
sawako - Madoromi
Sawako's previous forays into lowercase audio sculpting have been published by such estimable imprints as 12k, and/oar and Community Library. This latest collection of pieces finds the Tokyo-based sound artist on top form too, shaping small, domestic-sounding pieces culled from a variety of location recordings, incidental noises and instrumental ramblings. Sawako has much in common with similarly-minded Japanese artists like Mondii, Ken Ikeda, or even Moskitoo and Piana, albeit devoid of any dominant vocal presence (despite the freeform utterances on 'August Neige' these pieces are focussed on abstract ambience), yet there's something very distinctive about the grasp on melody, which always seems to be at the forefront of these compositions, even if it is somewhat more subtle than on your standard pop fare. The likes of 'It's Not On Purpose', 'Kira Kira' and 'Applied Soapbox' could easily be mistaken for the work of Colleen, such is Sawako's skilful collision of organic sound sources and shapeshifting electroacoustic treatments. Excellent.
