by Matthew Smolak

Ishii’s earlier albums are inventive and playful. His later releases, however, while still good albums, lack the uniqueness and spirit found in the first half of Ishii’s career. This is particularly true of the current release, Future In Light (2003). Here is a brief review of some of Ishii’s previous releases.

Garden On The Palm
R&S Records (1993)

Ken Ishii’s first CD is short but succinct, an aural delight. From the sparse and drowsy opening of the title track to the open spaciness of the closing “QF”, this debut flirts with sounds as diverse as techno, ambient and electronic noodling. It is fresh and unique, but forms the basis of what is still Ishii’s sound.

Subtlety abounds – in the first track listen for the weird jingly sequence in the background that slowly emerges around the 30 second mark. Turn it up in your house and you’ll keep thinking you hear an ice cream van lurking in the neighborhood.“Loop” starts off sounding like a remix of Law and Order and then the drum sequence begins, echoing in the background as if the track were recorded in a stark corridor, building only slightly before lapping back and forth like water in a pond. The entire album is built on such moments. “Nil” is the only track with any aspiration to becoming a dance hit with its persistent bass beat and some steady techno sounds, and “Popgun” is the only track to feature any vocals, which are tastefully fruitful.

A subdued but enticing effort, Garden on the Palm shows a well-trimmed balance between constraint and indulgence. Interestingly, Garden on the Palm introduces the occasionally recurring theme of geometry (namely grids) for Ishii album covers with a simple grid pattern laid over an idyllic illustration of a field.

Jelly Tones
R&S Records and Sony Japan (1995)

Jelly Tones introduces the hip Ishii. The first track, “EXTRA” was Ishii’s first big single, owing much to a fantastic video that rides the coattails of the fame of the classic anime film Akira (produced by the artistic director of Akira), not just Ishii’s obvious musical talents. Jelly Tones has much in common, mood wise, with Ishii’s later albums (Sleeping Madness, Flatspin and the most recent, Future in Light). However, each song is given lots of breathing space to congeal into a complete entity, unlike those on his most recent album. Songs vary slightly from the high-pitched squealing of “Cocoa Mousse” to the exotic rhythms of “Stretch” (albeit spread over a 4/4 beat). While the album breaks ground in the dance scene for Ishii, there is also much of the spacey experimenting common to Garden on the Palm.

Metal Blue America
Sony Japan (1997)

The most unique of Ishii’s albums, Metal Blue America, may also be his best. Personally, I have a fond attachment to it from my short time living in Japan. The album was released while I was there and got a lot of play in the club scene. With certain songs, I can still vividly remember my last night in Japan, almost exactly six years ago, in a small bar that was playing the entire album.

From the opening title track, with its exclamation of “American Dreams” to the closing frenzy of “Drummelter” (available on the limited edition CD), Metal Blue America is spastically challenging but possibly Ishii’s most artistically accessible album, maybe due to some desire for American success. Whatever the inspiration or intention, this fantastic album hardly registered in North America; the only single to get any notice may have been the throbbing “Butter Bump”.

While accessible, this is also the most experimental of Ishii’s albums: it features the human voice more than any of Ishii’s other releases, including his own voice and a sample of Salvador Dali that is put to effective use on “Actio Surrealismo”, and even some frantic guitar work on the awesome “Rev Splash”. There isn’t one weak song on the album – each one rocks on its own. The best of the best, though, come in the last four songs, which, despite being electronic music, convey convincing energy and emotion. Crank up “Spinous Blue” and listen to the drums being pelted in opposing corners of your room (or headphones) while the song continually doesn’t build to a climax. Let “Decrescendo”, with its minimal but captivating dynamics, wash over you.

Aesthetically, Metal Blue America is a sparsely designed album with simple red cover featuring, this time, the rigid geometry of a braille title on the front and full braille on the back, without any other identifying markings on the outside of the album.

Sleeping Madness
R&S Records (1999)

Sleeping Madness winks at the brilliance of Metal Blue America and is similar to the next release, Flatspin, but unfortunately shares some of the generic nature of Ishii’s most recent release, Future In Light. There are some good tracks, the short opening track, “Khaotic Khaen”, the energized “24bit Optimist” and the biggest single off of the album, “Game Over”. However, there are also bland songs, like the title track, that will lull you to sleep. Sleeping Madness also features two high profile artists: Talvin Singh and DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid. DJ Spooky collaborates on “Enso Online”, which, despite its sparse and spooky sound, is one of Ishii’s grooviest head-bobbing tunes. Sleeping Madness has some solid songs, but overall it is one of Ishii’s weaker releases.

Flatspin
Sony (2000)

Crisp techno sounds return on Flatspin echoing the harder sounds of his earlier releases by almost blending Garden On The Palm and Metal Blue America. While the opening track, “Iceblink” sounds like a carryover from Sleeping Madness, other tracks like “Gap Accelerator” and “Infrangible” reveal Ishii has almost come full circle. Ishii even slides into the jazz realm a bit with the song “Frozen Reminiscence”, a very cool tune with underlying funky keys. Other notable tracks include “Drums in Friction”, “Mirage” and “Moonquake”. All in all, a solid release with many more strong points than weaknesses. It also features a funky Q-Bert-esque (the game, not the DJ) cover, again returning to the geometric/grid concept. It is one of the more unique and tasteful album covers for Ishii.

Other Stuff:

Those who already know or soon discover that they like Ken Ishii may want to check out his other releases under the monikers of Flare and FLR, among others, which feature more of a dance vibe. I have heard only a few tracks from Ishii’s side projects, but have been impressed with the little I have heard.

Click here for a review of Ishii's latest album, Future in Light.