- A chilled blend of ambient and new age.
- The second release on Joe McBride's Synkro Musik label ticks two trendy boxes: Japanese ambient and new age. That said, the versatile Manchester artist has been referencing new age before it was fashionable, with a spa-day aesthetic that could feel luxurious one moment and dull the next. Gagaku, named after the Japanese court music that also inspired Tim Hecker's last album, hones the style with two examples of McBride at his best.
The gentle "Gagaku" flows like a lava lamp, its smooth melodies framed by a glitchy, trap-influenced drum pattern. The yearning, far-away feel is somewhere between Burial and Hiroshi Yoshimura, but the tension—thanks to its eerie, melancholy chords—adds some welcome vinegar to McBride's melodies. On "Cloud Musik," a two-minute drift, resonant like singing bowls, drops off into a twangy guitar lick drowning in effects. It's an inverse climax that plunges into ambient freefall just when you think something big is going to happen. These clever originals contrast with the "Gagaku" remix from Frederic Robinson, whose ideas—processed vocal samples, halting rhythms, Eastern-tinged scales—sound like they were rescued from 2012. They're the clichés that McBride leaves behind on this otherwise excellent record.
TracklistA1 Gagaku
B1 Gagaku (Frederic Robinson Remix)
B2 Cloud Musik