Kashiwa Daisuke, 88 Album Review
After the headrush IDM of '5 Dec', with its cluttered beats and uncompromising sonic maelstroms that bore resemblances to Aphex Twin and Venetian Snares at times and countrymen Xinlisupreme and Merzbow at others '88' may seem like a massive curveball. It is composed entirely from sparse piano playing that is completely devoid of the stuttering electronic saturation typically found across the vast majority of Kashiwa Daisuke's work, and it maintains a regal composure throughout. Its name comes from the 88 keys found on a traditional full-size piano and it is a name that mirrors the opaque simplicity of the album; where Kashiwa has previously been an expert in forging an almost infinite amount of layers to envelop a listener, and sometimes to pummel them into submission, his latest work is immediate and instantly decipherable.
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