Oppressed by the line - kiku

Oppressed by the line - kiku
Genre : Shoegaze, Electronica, Indie
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1. Mountain Mist 3:54
2. Sunset From the 16th Floor 2:10
3. Paper Cranes 5:42
4. One Thousand Red Stars 5:42
5. Shinkansen 7:26 $0.99
6. Sunset From the 16th Floor (Winterlight Remix) 6:16
7. Mountain Mist (Taro Kawasaki Remix) 3:32

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Beyond running Drifting Falling Records, Jonathan Thompson – who records under the moniker Oppressed by the Line – is a prolific artist too. It’s been less than a year since he delivered Soft Focus and now returns with a set of new songs that comprise his third album ”Kiku”. And there is no doubt that this release is Thompson’s most uplifting and heart – warming work to date.

As I read in the press release Thompson inspired Kiku by lovely sunsets, mountainous landscapes and city lights while on holiday in Japan. His experience in the Land of the Rising Sun is depicted in the opener Mountain Mist where a subtle Taiko drum beat and colorful xylophone ringings give way to warm organic melodies and glitchy sound effects. Sunset from the 16th Floor is a two minute instrumental piece of blissed-out ambience that nicely unrolls the carpet for the pop gem that is Paper Cranes. Displaying a nostalgic summery feeling Paper Cranes shines and sparkles with its joyful harmonies and a catchy chorus before ending up into a haze of swirling guitars. Imagine Field Mice meeting My Bloody Valentine, this track is dangerously infectious. Elsewhere Thompson’s echoed vocals add a spacey feel to the Shoegaze- laden synths of One Thousand Red Stars while the up tempo beats and textured electronic noises of Shinkansen find him venturing into dance territory.

Kiku also features two remixes by Taro Kawasaki and Winterlight. On Mountain Mist the Japanese composer abandons the minimal aesthetic of his debut ep for a lusher and playful orchestration while on Sunset from the 16th Floor, Tim Ingham (Winterlight) sticks to what he knows best: Creating aural dreamscapes that evoke a feeling of escapism.

By titillating both your ear and imagination Kiku calls you for repeated listening. Especially, for those who prefer music to be the equivalent of a green field full of poppies against a vivid blue sky where kids are cheerfully laughing and jumping this is a record they will fall in love with. by Sotiris