Hakobune - Parhelion (2018)

Takahiro Yorifuji’s music is able to soothe the spirit, and Parhelion is no exception. Hakobune’s shimmering sounds are slightly unclear and blurry, like dull coins glowing under murky water, but they continue to sparkle, nonetheless. His music retreats from and closes itself off from the ultra-bright while still being extremely radiant and pure-spirited. Always developing and advancing (but using subtle looping techniques at the same time), the two tracks of Parhelion are deep, trance-inducing meditations, designed to give you perfect rest.

Like the slow, care-free travelling of clouds, the music passes through the sailing-routes of the Pacific sky. At first, the lighter stream of indistinct notes are anchored to a lower bass, prodding the music towards an overcast and rain-soaked atmosphere, but it’s still light enough to pull itself away from the drizzle, drifting on by, and as is always the case with Hakobune’s music, the two movements are effective and powerful. The two pieces are simply named ‘I’ and II’, because they don’t need labelling. It’s been stripped back; her clear-headed nature is out in the open, not trying to be anyone else and not trying to overcomplicate things. So many artists do overcomplicate their music, but infinity lies within simplicity; within ease.

In ambient music, it’s crucial not to overpopulate the music – this ain’t fusion! Hakobune sticks to one concept and runs with it, tying it to a fluttering kite before it takes off on the wings of a bird. Don’t be fooled, because it isn’t a simple process, with a complex chain of pedals strobing out flashes of staccato lightning and a deep sensitivity that cuts right through the soul, right into the sweet spot. This is a soulshot, and it kills. Its soft centre disguises a great danger, like an illicit affair or a romance withering into a sour thing; a Valentine from the music alone, going directly through the body to get to the emotions. It can’t be taught.

Hakobune never loses its heart, and that’s a sign of an ambient black belt, but his music relates to all of us. We’re all drifting by; puffs of transitory smoke encapsulated by seconds in time.