ric-012 Fairy Tale - Takahiro Kido

player name |
instruments
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| Takahiro Kido | Piano + Guitar + Glockenspiel + Organ + Accordion + Melodion + Flute etc. | |
| Yuki Murata | Piano on tr.8&9 + Cembalo + Harmonic Pipe | |
| Jyunko Tabira | Violin | |
| Utaka Fujiwara | Viola | |
| Mitsuko Arai | Cello | |
| Takahiro Matsue | Bass + Tenor Sax | |
| Yuko Yata | Alto Sax | |
| Mio | Harp | |
| Tadashi Yoshikawa | Drums + Percussion | |
Composed by |
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| Track. 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 : Takahiro Kido | |
| Track. 4, 8 : Takahiro Kido + Yuki Murata | |
Recorded & Mixed by |
Mastered by
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Illustration by | Art Direction & Design by | |
| Takahiro Kido | Hiromits Shoji | Emmeline Pidgen | Takahiro Kido | |
| Oranges and Lemons |
| prologue |
about "Fairy Tale" |
Welcome to the entrance to the endless world of dream and adventure. = Ricco Label One of Japan's premier young composers, Takahiro Kido is no stranger to readers of The Silent Ballet. Kido has been enchanting listeners for years in various projects, including Anoice, Mokyow, Cru, and Rilf, but it may be his solo work that is the most impressive. Fleursy Music remains a standout album, and, by the sounds of it, Fairy Tale should quickly become a classic as well. Kido takes a variety of influences -- classical, jazz, ambient, electronica, folk, just to name a few -- and stirs up a concoction that is all his own. What follows is a grand experience, part cinematic and part daring, but always engaging the audience and providing a great soundtrack to life's many adventures. Complete with a revised version of Anoice's "Three Day Blow," Fairy Tale is a keeper. = The Silent Ballet You probably didn’t know that there is a niche for contemporary, classically based instrumental folk in Japan, but the scene is big and vibrant. Takahiro Kido’s Fairy Tale (July 20, Ricco Label) is a perfect entry to the genre, gently rolling between measured folktronica and triumphant, glimmering bliss. = Utne Reader To place a critical analysis of an album made by a Tokyo based artist in the context of the earthquake and resulting tsunami that hit Japan on the 11th of March this year may seem like an obvious, not to mention insensitive, angle to take, however considering Takahiro Kido's 'Fairy Tale' it is one that is almost unavoidable. Kido, the owner of Ricco Label, member of a wealth of genre-defying bands such as Anoice, Rilf and Mokyow and a respected solo musician in his own right, was one of the first from his homeland to offer music in the wake of the tragedy; the fantastic, and free, 'Hope' compilation that was not made available as a reaction to the disaster that claimed over 15,000 lives, but as a meditation on it. In true Japanese style it had a silent dignity and restraint, and yet it was also strikingly intimate; a selection of songs from his back catalogue that perfectly illustrated personal reflections of the incident. Either way, 'Fairy Tale' is not only Takahiro's strongest release to date but one wrought with a gambit of emotions that far exceed the usual instrumental fodder; emotions that are at times both foreign and all too familiar. It sees him move further from the distant ambience of his earliest releases into a haze of electronica, neo-classical and post-rock that has almost become a signature sound of Japan, bearing similar hallmarks to the work of Worlds End Girlfriend, Motoro Faam, Aus, No.9 and countless others, whilst finding itself rooted in the contemplative compositions of Ryuichi Sakamoto. Takahiro Kido is a master of finding the right balance between human emotion and technical perfection, ensuring his pieces have structure but do not suffer from the obtuse rigidity that many fellow artists of a similar ilk suffer from. 'Oranges and Lemons' blossoms from a sparse piano movement into a music-box waltz, with strings pirouetting behind it. It is reminiscent of Sigur Rós circa-Takk, rewritten for the score of an animated brothers Grimm story rather than a nature documentary. Opener 'Prolouge' brings to mind Sigur Rós's country-mates Múm with its hushed, fractured beats whilst 'Lets Go Crazy!' erupts into a psychedelic landscape that wouldn't sound too far out of place in the hands of Mercury Rev or The Flaming Lips. All of which gives way to 'The Three-Day Blow', originally an Anoice track completely re-imagined as the finale of 'Fairy Tale'. It is perhaps one of the most beautiful 'classical' pieces written this side of Henryk Gorecki, as well as the albums most expansive moment. Unfortunately, its beauty is presence in a stark simplicity that cannot be accurately summarised in words, as it slowly evolves from a snaking violin solo into a climax that transcends the typical post-rock quiet/loud schematic. As Worlds End Girlfriend has before him with last years' 'Seven Idiots' here Takahiro Kido has released an album that fully realises his potential and incorporates the elements of an illustrious back-catalogue into something much more immediate and enjoyable. = Jordan Dowling / contactmusic.com |
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about "Takahiro Kido" |
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Takahiro Kido is a sound artist, recording and mixing engineer, a designer and programer for webs from Tokyo, Japan. He debuted as comporser and leader of Anoice, and released solo electronica or post-classical albums such as "Fleursy Music" that was recorded 8th place on the electro music chart of Germany and chosen to be top 10 albums 2008 on U.S. music site The Silent Ballet from PLOP and "in my Time" from Ricco Label. You can hear various instruments in these albums and they all have rich textures as he records these instruments in very unique situation like in the tunnel, mountains, abandoned hotel lobby - He is very conscious about the colorful and diverse reverberation of the nature. website = www.fleursy.com/takahirokido |



















