Aoki Takamasa + Tujiko Noriko — 28

What follows will be a layman's view on Tujiko Noriko, as normally François would be raving about her, like he already did a couple of times (and also Takamasa's Indigo Rose gets that 'treatment'). For that reason I figured it would be nice to hear someone else's opinion, even though I'm not familiar with her work.

For this record Tujiko joined forces with Aoki Takamasa, someone whose work I'm equally unfamiliar with. Aoki and Tujiko, both 28 (hence the title), have been working together for a while now, both maintaining a solocareer too. First through mail and on a few livedates here and there, but now that Aoki moved to Tujiko's residence Paris, France this is the first recording created entirely together.

The couple's arrangements are playful with all kinds of sounds scattered, cut up, processed and otherwise electronically altered. Most music created this way ends up being quite freeform and may seem structureless, but in this instance these building blocks are used to build endearing popsongs. Tujiko's voice also gets electronic treatments on some occasions. 28 may seem sketchy in some respects, but the poppy appeal gives that more a sense of freedom than of unfinished business. Every sound that may seem random on first listen actually seems very deliberate and in place.

Personally I tend to like women that sing like they're going to rip your balls off, so the sweetness of Tujiko's voice wouldn't be my bag, generally speaking. I still enjoy this disc quite a bit, the mood is dreamy and warm with a little pleasantly spooky twist. So there you have it, maybe a little less euphoric than you would get from François, still a quite enthousiastic review of a lovely CD.