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By – Paul Cordes Wilm
Out Of This World
Wow. I can’t tell you what exactly I was expecting from this release, but it definitely wasn’t this! My first foray into the sounds of Tokyo’s female trio, Kuunatic was a track from this very album that I heard online. It was a song called “Disembodied Ternion” and it sounded more or less like a Rock song with trance-like vocals sung by women that reminded me vaguely of a late-70’s British girl band called The Raincoats. I really dug what I heard and assumed that I’d hear more of the same if I heard a full album. Then I did hear (experienced) the entire album of Wheels of Ömon, which changed everything regarding not only my appreciation but also my perception of this group. Nothing involved with them can be viewed as understatement. Let me explain :
Kuunatic is so much more than just a Japanese “Rock band”. Their incredible sounds are created by Fumi Kikuchi on keyboards, Shoko Yoshida on bass and Yuko Araki on drums and they all three sing. In 2021, they released their astonishing debut album, Gate of Klüna, on an unsuspecting public.
The music Kuunatic makes is an immersive experience. Listening to it makes one feel like some sort of intense religious ritual is being witnessed, but in no way understood. That being said, I did discover (simply by reading up on the band) that indeed, there is a fantastical concept to all of their works. It involves a planet called Kuurandia, its moon Klüna and its sun Ömon (which has a 45-hour orbit!) and both albums are chock-full of Kuurandian tales of prophecy, mysterious powers and magical healing lakes.
The sonic world they invent with their recorded music is one deeply rooted in the realm of make-believe and play, yet the instruments they choose to use and their unique style of singing and chanting breathe a very believable life into it. To give one an idea of what their music sounds like, it’s more or less a cross-pollination of traditional Japanese sounds and psychedelic prog rock.
In addition to the aforementioned keys, bass, drums and singing, Kuunatic also play chappa (hand-sized cymbals used at temple rituals or festivals), sasara (a percussion instrument of 108 wooden plates strung with a cotton cord), ryuteki (a flute used in gagaku), kagurabue (a flute used for Japanese traditional shrine music) ougidaiko (a fan-shaped hand drum), kokiriko (small bamboo stick instruments), and wadaiko (a huge traditional drum that has been used for rituals or festivals since ancient times). Again … Wow.
The band have been quoted to say “The sounds of the flutes and drums we used have a very strong folk sense and atmosphere and they helped us to create a mysterious landscape. Sasara and kokiriko are used for the oldest Japanese folk song called ‘Kokiriko Bushi’ as well, so the historical fact is also included in their albums’ narrative. But we mixed those Japanese elements with all different musical cultures and ideas, so this is a fusion of ancient times and modern times, crossing borders to borders.”
Without a doubt, Kuunatic is like nothing I’ve ever heard before. I am now a complete convert to the far-off worlds and strange civilisations this band has invented with their pounding ritual rhythms, sung & chanted vocals, throbbing electric bass and ancient folk instruments. The only thing that could top listening to an album like Wheels of Ömon would be to experience it performed LIVE. Just imagining that happening conjures up one solid word : Wow.
Written by: Paul Cordes Wilm
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