Teiji Ito — Watermill

Watermill is one of the most beautiful, enchanting and approachable  long form pieces by noted and past New York based Japanese composer and performer Teiji Ito; taking in his usually love of Native American, Chinese, Tibetan, African, and Japanese traditional music to weave a truly spell-binding, often intricate and compelling piece that stays more in melodic and atmospheric end of his work.

Each of the seven tracks is based around a season and each gives off a very rich mysterious and often soothing ethnic air that is thankful complete void of bland new age sentiments- this really feels like it could have been made by native people and really brings to mind a clear feeling of what it must have been like to deal with each season joys and rubs. The tracks are built and brought to sonic live by an impressive selection of traditional and ethnic instrumentation- such as: Koto , Bugaku Drum, Puili (hawaiian Bamboo Shakers), Javeneses Gongs, Indian Cymbals, Mushi Chachiki (small Japanese Gong), Shakuhachi, Maraca, Bansuri Flutes, Hichiriki, Ocarina, Claves,  Shakuhachi, Ryuteki and more recognizable instruments such as gongs and cymbals, Zither, Steel Drum and various percussive elements. The ensemble is lead up by Teiji colleague Steve Gorn and the six piece is also includes Teiji’s daughter Tavia Ito. The albums pace switchers between slow dreamy flutes piped harmonic dwells, to more active and vibrate ethic percussive adventures, onto elegant string pickings and plucks of the koto and beyond

Watermill is a truly lovely, compelling, enriching and at times dramatic piece of ethic based composition that takes you through a myriad of emotions and continents; if you yet to hear Ito 's work this is the place to start- truly breathtaking stuff.