Moon Light Reflecting over Mountains

Label : Room40 Cut : RM465 Format :CD On Moon Light Reflecting Over Mountains, Tokyo’s Chihei Hatakeyama evokes an instrumen- t!al poetic grace, that marks him out as one of the icons of his generation. Drawing broadly from aesthetic references, that traverse music of the past 30 years, he seam- lessly melts glacial ambient drifts with richly harmonic guitar strata that echo the gliding mo- tions of My Bloody Valentine, Ride and Cocteau Twins. Never resolving to clear melody, his interest in unrestrained harmonics creates a depth to his compositions and moreover a pro- f!ound sense of the personal. Like Saunter and Mirror, his other editions for Room40, Hatakeyama’s recurrent interest in place is revealed in pieces such as A Bronze Pike. Strummed acoustic guitars are cloaked in a soundscape that suggests a dwelling in the urban; sirens and voices clearly emerging as t!he piece meanders. Moon Light Reflecting Over Mountains is perhaps Hatakeyama’s most complete work to do. It reconciles his interested in harmony, texture and space. It etches out a map into familiar, yet unexpected territories. These are very much his own lands, but they are lands in which we, as l!isteners, are welcome to roam.