Dovuaski — Tokyo, the Monochrome City
Dovuaski is sound Artist, DJ, Engineer, Drummer based in Nakano, Tokyo- this cd release, on his own Sad Tokyo label, is his first ever release. And I must say it’s a extremely well conceived & executed debut release, which mangers to create it’s own distinctive mood & vibe that focus very much on the monotony & endless churning of a modern city, and the great loneliness with-in a crowded city scapes.
The release features eleven tracks in all, with a total running time of just under sixty mintues. Though many of the tracks do stand up on their own, really this album truly comes alive a one long journey. The tracks move from moody & repetitive guitar licked electronica with subtle noise elements & field recording weaves. Onto sleek yet bleak meetings of cars & rain field recording mixed with in fixed industrial texturing. Though to mixers of set waltzing organ work & distant people chatter. Onto locked down beat scapes, which meet downwardly swirl mixers of locked guitar textures & spacey electro effects. Through to trance inducing mixes of down-beat ambient electronica, rhythmic banged piano textures, and hazed/ morphed field recordings.
The label describes the album as just dark ambience with field recording elements, and yes there are both of these things present on “Tokyo, the Monochrome City”- but there’s also a whole lot more too with elements of fixed electronica, slurred & clean sounding post rock, found-sound beat making, sleek industrial & noise elements mixed in too. I guess if I could compare it to anything I’d say it brought to mind Ulver when they used to have a more urban based sound around Perdition City, & the two Silence eps- but the sound here is more sophisticated & focused, with it’s own distinct feel.
All told it’s a most impressive opening shot from Dovuaski, and I look forward to hearing what the future brings for this project- so this is well worth a look if you into moody & urban focused sound making that mixes together elements of locked down electronica, dark ambience & bleak field recordings.