kanoi - vessels

Kanoi

Vessels
self released; 2013

4.1 out of 5

"Vessels" is a 39 minute long, ambient re-imaging of the book Dragon Sword & Wind Child by Japanese writer Noriko Ogiwara. According to Kanoi, the one-way project hailing from Vienna, “the sounds were created by looping and treating guitar phrases and then cutting them up and putting them together upside-down with the occasional sample thrown in to enhance the atmosphere.” Whatever he is doing is working so well. Fans of acts like Stars of the Lid or Keith Fullerton Whitman will embrace the tranquility, melancholy, and variance this album presents.

The album starts with a 17-minute song called “Water Maiden” which is based around a sample of rain and pulsating synth or guitar. The demand for attention is required as subtleties of the sounds are different with each sequence. This is headphone music where as you become focused on the sounds the more you will be rewarded by not only the sounds but the underlying emotion that they represent. In this case it is tranquility and solace. Equally as impressive is “Teruhi” which not only continues into ethereal ambience but also introduces a wave of white noise that creates a dichotomy of dissonance and resolve. “Revolt” is a bit of a change in pace. It revolves around a darker mood and various sounds that I think are bells. The closing song “Palace of Light” creates such an intricate yet simple blanket of sound that it seems best to just turn off your iphone, TV or other electronic device and bathe in its frequencies. I loved this album and I think fans of ambient soundscapes will as well.

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