Product Description
Content Introduction Singaporean duo ASPIDISTRAFLY releases their long-awaited 3rd album, their first in 10 years! This ambitious and inspiring work fuses Japanese 80s ambient pop and sound collage with magically beautiful acoustic ensembles. Haruka Nakamura, Hibiki Ichinose, ARAKI Shin, and SUGAI KEN make guest appearances. ASPIDISTRAFLY, the duo consisting of Singaporean singer-songwriter April Lee, who gained many fans here in Japan with their pastoral and elegant ambient folk album "A Little Fable," and producer Ricks Ang, who runs KITCHEN. LABEL, has completed their long-awaited new work. Titled "Altar of Dreams," this album draws on their experiences from the past decade to create a completely new and inspiring vision with a rich sound palette that traverses the fantastical imagery of French photographers Serge Lutens and Dora Maar, Japanese 80s ambient pop, musique concr?te, and the melancholic strings of Bart?k. The nine tracks, totaling just under 35 minutes, embody all of ASPIDISTRAFLY's signature characteristics: poetic lyricism, cosmic introspection, rich strings, surrealism, tenderness, and texture. The opening track, "How To Meet A Marblewing," is a sound collage that fuses early internet sounds, film, anime, and 90s J-POP, and this new direction deeply permeates the entire album. The next track, "The Voice of Flowers," is a dreamy folk symphony in which April's deep, beautiful vocals are enveloped in a magical ensemble of flute, clarinet, tenor saxophone, piano, and strings. Haruka Nakamura, Araki Shin, and Hiroki Chiba participate as guest musicians on this track, and Hibiki Ichinose is in charge of the string arrangements for the entire album. "Interlude: A Ceremonial Ode" (M-6) and the title track "Altar of Dreams" (M-7) were influenced by Shiseido advertisements from the 1980s starring model Sayoko Yamaguchi. The title track was born from a "lucid dream" (a state in which one is aware of and can control the fact that they are dreaming) that once provided April with escapism, and behind its serene beauty lies a simmering tension, much like how the control of a lucid dream kicks in when faced with the unknown. The following track, "Silk and Satins" (M-8), directly analyzes the phenomenon of lucid dreaming. A collaboration with electronic musician SUGAI KEN, who projects traditional Japanese aesthetics, creates an otherworldly soundscape. This sparkling work, expressing destruction, mystery, uncertainty, hope, and dreams all at once, is brimming with new hope from ASPIDISTRAFLY, who have spent 10 years reconstructing the world seen through vivid dreams and memories. (Media reviews, etc.) Singaporean duo ASPIDISTRAFLY releases their long-awaited 3rd album, 10 years after their previous work! A completely new and inspiring work that fuses 80s Japanese ambient pop and sound collage with magically beautiful acoustic ensembles. Guest appearances by haruka nakamura, Hibiki Ichinose, ARAKI Shin, and SUGAI KEN. (C)RS
About the Artists: Formed in 2003 and based in Singapore, ASPIDISTRAFLY is a male-female duo consisting of vocalist/composer April Lee and producer Ricks Ang. They have released two albums to date: "I Hold A Wish for You" (2008) and "A Little Fable" (2011). They have also collaborated with numerous Japanese musicians, including Akira Kosemura, haruka nakamura, and Ichiko Aoba. Outside of ASPIDISTRAFLY, April works as an art director, active in the fields of design, photography, and fashion. Ricks runs the "KITCHEN. LABEL" label, releasing high-quality music by artists such as haruka nakamura and Mei Ting, along with sophisticated and beautiful special package designs.
