[News] Hiroki Kikuta - New Projects

To be honest, I'm not sure that a collaboration between Ito and Kikuta is ideal. Neither is particularly renowned for aggressively paced melodies. The final result may indeed feel one-dimensional if neither feels comfortable venturing outside their norm.

Kikuta's ambient work is excellent. Ito's piano work is skilled, although often veering on the bland side of sound. On paper, it seems like an ideal pairing but, in execution, I wonder if their low-key styles will complement each other or compete for the same musical space. Where subtle background music is concerned, their collaborations may work. But where more forceful, energized music is necessary, I am hesitant to think that the partnership may be lacking. I'm sure they can come up with something but aggression is neither's forte and I almost worry that such music would sound forced.

Had Kikuta been paired with someone whose ouevre is similar but contains a little more...oomph...say, Tenpei Sato, Ken Nakagawa or Motoi Sakuraba, then I'd be thrilled at the news. For now, it's just an interesting pairing whose efforts feel more like an experiment than a true fellowship, to me.

Jam it back in, in the dark.