Maya Ongaku – ‘Approach to Anima’ album review: transcendent charm and otherworldly sounds
It’s not very often that an album manages to wash over you, merge with personal experiences buried within and still maintain a wonderfully refreshing sound. Maya Ongaku‘s debut, Approach to Anima, does just that. A blend of psychedelia, folk and jazz, with the essence of the trio’s native island of Enoshima coursing throughout, it’s a testament to this body of work that, whilst it is so particular to Maya Ongaku, it manages to impact listeners so significantly.
A wholly visual album, Approach to Anima arrives on Guruguru Brain, the independent music label founded in Tokyo in 2014 by Go and Tomo of Kikagaku Moyo. Now based in Amsterdam, the company focuses on spreading the feel-good sounds of Asia, with the new offering by Maya Ongaku ticking all the boxes.
Sonoda’s chiming guitar and ethereal vocals, Takano’s languid basslines and Ikeda’s woodwind and percussion all converge to create a sonic experience that helps you transcend whatever physical environment you might find yourself in. The mind races to places far removed from the present state.
A compelling blend of the band’s many interests, Approach to Anima reflects the power that can result from tying the contemporary world to the old, with sparks flying from their intersection. For instance, whilst the spirit of the trio’s native island is distilled and bottled via the washing water, bird sound and situational sonics, there are also moments that appear to be plucked straight from America’s old west, a land far removed from the rapidly gentrifying enclave of Enoshima.
Sounding akin to the point Doc Sportello rubs his fingers across the fluffy purple walls of the massage parlour in Paul Thomas Anderson’s stoned enigma Inherent Vice, a part of me that thinks Approach to Anima is also befitting of bringing a feature to life. The band is clearly aware of this sentiment, too, as the artistic video for ‘Melting’ expresses.
Delightful moments are sprinkled across the record; the first is the opener, ‘Approach’. It’s a slow-building number that gradually unfolds from chirping birds, helped by atmospheric percussion cultivating an unhurried, esoteric rhythm. Steeped in the traditional music of Japan and the psychedelic music of the 1960s, it creates a sonic palette that bathes you in the warmth of summer, with each note of the floating brass pulling you further away from life’s familiar anxieties.
The aforementioned ‘Melting’ is also a highlight, with an appropriate title pulling it together. Another juncture, complete with the natural sound of birds communicating, it then breaks into a jazz-indebted rhythm guided by the acoustic guitar and the wooden strokes of the percussion, which do well in channelling the harmony of our feathered friends high up in the trees. Sonoda’s vocals are particularly irresistible here, as they add a human dimension to the bucolic feel of this particular Approach to Anima scene.
The penultimate offering, ‘Water Song’, is the most dreamlike adventure on Approach to Anima. On this track, Maya Ongaku pushes into a different realm entirely, fuelled by 11 minutes of running water, transcendental keys, far-away brass eliciting images of The Pavilion of Dreams, and Sonoda’s most affecting guitar melody. It points to the trio’s brilliance and again indicates the charm of fusing the old and new worlds with care and respect. In light of this, the song becomes something much more affecting than we’re generally used to in contemporary times, a stellar feat.
Approach to Anima is one of the finest albums of the year and is simply perfect for balmy summer days and the promise the warmth can bring.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out New Music Newsletter
All the latest New Music from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.