Author: Sandi Sadar Šoba
Artist: Mouse On The Keys
Label: Denovali Records
Release: 2007
Length: 16:17
Rating: 4.8/5
Retro, unexpected, brilliant – that’s the short version of this jazzy, funk-grimy instrumental rocket and a flawless musical experiment from the land of the rising sun. Tokyo trio Mouse On Keys are innovators who, unlike most, would rather lean on a seriously fat, heavy piano sound than on guitars, tying it in with the brilliant As Meias, Toe and a sea of modern jazz experiments. Tokyo, the city of a thousand faces, shows up this time in jazz lounge mode, and the creative trio’s record is the backdrop for a trip through the virtual Tokyo anthill. Sezession is, all the same, a record that’s miles away from being intellectually stuffy, because over four tracks it radiates a truly impressive dose of lightness, playfulness and listenability to the tenth power. Mouse On The Keys are a trio guided by pure inspiration. Drummer and pianist Akira Kawasaki is backed by the synth-and-acoustic ballast of Atsushi Kiyota’s additional piano and the projections of Michinori Saiga, plus the poisonous sweetness of Jun Nemoto’s morphine-like saxophone. The post-hardcore jazz present shakes hands with the past in an extremely elegant way. Drums, two keyboards and light layers of saxophone are downright meditative and inviting. Only rarely does a record manage to win you over instantly, on the spot. Sezession is one of those, and Mouse On The Keys are a new anchor point in the modern sky of nonlinear and impure genres.
This is a record that, genre aside, is anything but elitist or snobbish. Mouse On The Keys deliver their pure vision of a megalomaniac capital – Tokyo’s anthill of diversity – and smoothly turn it into Tokyo scenery for your living room too. The ambience of your room easily becomes a backdrop for creative self-indulgence, dancing, or just colorful daydreaming and unwinding from everyday worries – this time without noise and distortion, but still irresistibly sexy.
Lineup
Akira Kawasaki – drums, acoustic piano
Atsushi Kiyota – acoustic and electric piano, sound synthesizer
Daisuke Niitome – piano, keyboards
Guest musicians:
Jun Nemoto – soprano saxophone
Production
Mouse On The Keys & Takaaki Mino
Tracklist
1. Saigo No Bansan
2. Toccatina
3. Raumkrankheit
4. A Sad Little Town
