So Takahashi Nubus

About

Carpark is proud to offer the first “proper” full length record of So Takahashi. Having listened to So’s first self-produced and distributed CD-R 1 earlier in the year, Carpark thought it was time to give more people a chance to listen to this distinct and unusual sound. Hence we bring you Nubus, which is named after an old Apple hardware system.

Hailing from Yokohama, Japan, but currently living in New York, So has been making music in his home studio for more than four years now. Utilizing his collection of vintage roland drum machines, some guitars, a theremin, and sounds from his kitchen and fax machine, So has constructed in Nubus a new audio plateaux resting somewhere in between ambient melodicism and structured noise.

So is continually trying to reconcile his love of club music with more “non-body” musics. While his first CD is specifically aimed at the dance floor, Nubus seeks out an area somewhere just outside the club after closing. Here one can hear traces of Cologne (Studio 1), structured noise (Ala Ryoji Ikeda), and Japanese pop. There are other musical dichotomies that are constantly being negotiated on Nubus as well: “order vs. chaos,” “pop vs. un-pop,” “mechanics vs. organics.” In the end, So demonstrates how futile these dichotomies ultimately are at the end of the millennium, and brings us to a greater understanding and appreciation of music through music.

Artist Bio

On Nubu:

Lotus Magazine – (spring 2000) The debut album by Yokohama native/New York resident So Takahashi sounds a bit like a compilation of different artists—and that’s a compliment. While some techno experimentalists spend entire recordings obsessing on a single stylistic theme—often yielding tedious results—Takahashi employs a nice range of moods and timbres, making Nubus a continually intriguing and surprising listen. While this variety will no doubt lure listeners back again and again, it’s Takahashi’s unique, minimalistic melodicism and deft production that will capture their attention in the first place. Combining elements of Coil, Autechre, Hafler Trio and countless others, Takahashi’s palette covers everything from nouveau ambience to noise deconstruction, 1970s experimental film music and techno bleepiness. If the artist’s masterful sample manipulation and sparkling use of found sounds are the building blocks of his work, it’s his outstanding sense of pacing and composition that holds it all together. We may very well be following So Takahashi’s work for decades to come, so jump aboard now.

Lotus rating: 8

— Al Ritchie

On 30/30:

inaudible.com A cool release of constantly evolving experimental electronica that shifts back and forth from raster-noton-style or ryoji ikeda-style minimalism to a denser electronica sound then eventually to a more percussive experimental techno sound in one long track. Another solid experimental release from So Takahashi. Fans of Nobuzku Takemura, Ryoji Ikeda, Terre Thaemlitz, Taylor Deupree, Frank Bretschneider, and Noto should give this one a listen.

— Lance