{"id":21313,"date":"2020-06-06T10:52:46","date_gmt":"2020-06-06T08:52:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elgarajedefrank.es\/?p=21313"},"modified":"2024-05-29T13:32:41","modified_gmt":"2024-05-29T11:32:41","slug":"nao-katafuchi-emergence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elgarajedefrank.es\/en\/nao-katafuchi-emergence\/","title":{"rendered":"Nao Katafuchi – \u00c9mergence"},"content":{"rendered":"

Finally, there is a CD edition of Nao Katafuchi\u2019<\/strong>s first record,<\/strong> published in 2015, now released for the occasion with a few bonus tracks. The album, published by Vuz Records, can be heard and bought here<\/a>. Nao Katafuchi, <\/strong>who grew up in Tokyo during the eighties, fell in love with electronic music as he spent his teen years in the streets of Shibuya. In 1991, he moved to the Lower East Side of New York where he worked as a sound engineer and at the same time formed the electronic rock band\u00a0Superfortress,<\/strong> with which he published a couple of self-produced EPs and LPs. In the famous Wierd Record parties, Nao<\/strong> found a scene to belong to and met artists like\u00a0Xeno and Oaklander<\/strong> with whom he collaborates in this album. During that period of this life, he published his first EP, titled\u00a0Yumegoto<\/em>. At the end of 2015, he moved to Germany where he recorded this\u00a0\u00c9mergence<\/em> for the Nadanna label and became part of the darkwave scene of the city. And last year, he published his last album, Stalhgrau,<\/em> influenced by his life there and, so far, the last chapter of his musical adventure of this Japanese musician.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"In a way, \u00c9mergence<\/em> is the consequence of\u00a0everything\u00a0that we have said in the first paragraph: the love for electronic music, those days living in New York and, of course, the artist\u2019s Japanese origin that gives an exotic touch to some parts of this work of dark synth pop full of romanticism and melancholy. The album first track \u201cSilhouette\u201d starts with some post-punk guitars but the music evolves into dark synth pop with verses that reminds us slightly of A Flock of Seagulls\u2019\u201c<\/strong>I Run (So Far Away)\u201d.\u00a0Emergency<\/em> surprises us thanks to a frenetic pace, some parts sang in Japanese and the collaboration with Liz Wendelbo from Xeno & Oaklande<\/strong> singing. In\u00a0Dance To the End,<\/em> we find the elegant and 80s romanticism that Brian Ferry<\/strong> delivered in B<\/em>\u00eat<\/em>e Noire<\/em>, in what is for me the best moment of the album. \u201cAwakening\u201d is a collaboration with Tomo Akikawabaya<\/strong> (a Japanese minimal\/darkwave musician, creator of interesting albums such as The Castle<\/em> and incredible singles like Mars<\/em>), one of the voices of the dialogue that together with the synths create a great sense of tension in this track.\u201dLiving In My Own World,\u201d sang sensually, has a very interesting production. Powerful and dark synths welcome us in the beginning of\u00a0\u201cThe Lonely Kind\u201d, a good song although it\u2019s the one that we have enjoyed the less. Another of the surprises of the albums is \u201cComes To My Life\u201d with a vocal style that made us think of 90s dance music and with an irresistible result. Instead the beautiful start of \u201cGhost Town\u201d bring us back to the 80s with a very New Order<\/strong> sound but sang with the passion of Brian Ferry<\/strong>: another great track. As a bonus we have \u201cMasks\u201d the darker and more mysterious track of the album.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s talk now of the remixes: the first one of \u201cSilhouette\u201d does not change the original too much, but helps us get acquainted with Ohama<\/strong>, another interesting synth pop Japanese artist. Kevin Komoda ex-member of our beloved Rational Youth<\/strong> adds more synths to \u201cDance to The End\u201d and in some moments makes us think that we are going to hear \u201cEnola Gay\u201d. We also loved the work of\u00a0Shade Factory<\/strong> in \u201cLiving In My Own World\u201d, they give a weird vibe to the song and make it difficult to choose between this one and the original. The remix of\u00a0No More\u2019<\/strong>s remix of \u201cGhost Town\u201d, which makes the song even more dramatic, is also very interesting. Another of the exclusive remixes is Psyche\u2019<\/strong>s \u201cThe Lonely Kind\u201d that keeps the synths in a second level giving all the protagonist to the voice. And the last remix is done again by Shade Factory,<\/strong> who make \u201cLiving In My Own World\u201d more danceable.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In \u00c9mergence<\/em> you have a good album, a manual of how to make good remixes and a door to some interesting Japanese artists from the 80s. Can we really ask for more?<\/span><\/p>\n