A big motivator for me to constantly seek for music is its ability to break boundaries. The possibilities that arise from crafting genre-defying works capable of transcending cultural idiosyncrasies give a certain excitement to this art form we all come to love. It’s an ever-winding sonic synthesis that allows folks to reach towards the crevices of the world and discover amazing bands and artists. This might be the case with some of you for Kitsugaki, a rock quintet from Medellín, Colombia (and our featured artist for this edition of WFA!) whose rule of thumb is to show appreciation for their Colombian roots and their love for Japanese culture, all through the sensibilities of post rock and the franticness of math rock.
Or should I say, Post RockMathsudo.
See, Kitsugaki, composed of guitarists Carlos Sebastián Arroyave Sepúlveda and Sergio Alejandro Atehortúa, bassist Juan Jaime Sosa Henao, drummer Manuel Alejandro Lozano Rivillas, and keyboardist Juan Santiago, demonstrate their influences right from the band name (a portmanteau of the Japanese words kitsune (fox) and egaki (spirits of torment) to the aforementioned, self-made genre they identify with:
‘Saying ‘mathsudo‘ is a Colombian way of saying ‘mathy’, so it would roughly translate to ‘mathy post rock‘ since we believe that what we actually do is not fully math rock but some sort of post rock with math rock influences here and there.
‘We could also say that it’s mostly experimental because we’re constantly using different genres as inspiration from song to song, like Colombian pasillo and even Mexican corridos, but the base is always post rock and math rock.‘
This drive for experimentation is apparent from their blossoming but equally solid line of work, made more evident by the decision to present themselves as a mostly instrumental band. It’s no secret that genres like post rock and math rock are expressive in their own ways, yet can also be used as a leeway towards other musical ideas that, if incorporated properly, make for quality efforts – and Kitsugaki do just that.
‘As a group, we have always affirmed that the chords speak more than the words, for this reason the little tendency of the voices in our songs… Additionally, pigeonholing ourselves in a genre is limiting ourselves. Post RockMathsudo is merely illustrative, but in reality we have many compositions with influences from black metal, emo and even Mexican popular music.‘
Nothing serves more as a testament to this than their first two releases, particularly their 2015 debut EP Lobo Estepario. Named after the band’s previous moniker, Lobo Estepario doubles down on their musical influences, crafting a short collection of tracks that sway in all directions while never seeming incoherent. The structure of the overall EP is pure, thrilling experimentation and Kitsugaki abides by this: ‘…The name of this EP is born in honor of the first name of the group Lobo Estepario; we were still very young and we were just beginning to discover the genre with bands likeRussian Circles or Amenra. It really was a time of experimentation for us.’
The opening track – and the longest off the EP with a whopping 12-minute run – “Mauna Kea” holds nothing back to showcase this ambition towards sonic discovery. Starting off with field recordings, heart thumps, and wistful guitar leads accompanied by hints of wobbling keys, the song expands towards a set of movements that range from nonchalant prog metal passages and ethereal ambient musings to trademark black metal ferocity, all crafted within the framework of a post-rock song. All the ideas laid out here display a sense of adventure that is immediately palpable, making for a fresh and exciting listen throughout.
Despite the differences in song length, the remaining three tracks certainly hold up on their own, acting as magnifiers for the sounds presented on “Mauna Kea”. “Clavículas de Salomón” is the most straightforward out of the bunch, doubling down on the heaviness by conjuring the atmospherics of post-metal and blackgaze on an already throttling track. Conversely, “Ceiba” flourishes through its emotional buildups and focus on melody, giving us a taste of their emo and math rock influences through harmonized guitar tappings, while “Coda” blends all these soundscapes together into a satisfying conclusion to an already-promising release.
Six years later, the band shifted their focus on experimentation to delving into ambiance and layers on their first full-length Los Que Bailan En Sombras, while simultaneously introducing their fondness for Japanese conventions. If by now you’ve been wanting a fix of some textbook post-rock, then this one is for you, because some of the arrangements here sound huge. Adding more context to this record: ‘The name of the album comes from an episode of Naruto Shippuden, when he revived the Hokages... The compositions were made independently by two of the members, who wrote them at different stages of their lives. So several of those songs were even born when we were still in school with even 14 to 16 years.‘
Regardless of age, Los Que Bailan En Sombras is dynamic and thorough in its overall songwriting approach. Having a song like the sprawling, borderline apocalyptic “Todo lo Bueno en mi Arde Cuando Veo Algo que Detesto” pairing well with a laid-back but vibrant jam such as “Lunes” highlights this, showcasing the band’s knack for adapting to varying musical moods in a way that feels catchy and intentional.
The latter-half of the record, specifically tracks such as “El Peso de la Luz” and “Mancha” sports out riveting melodic prog undertones to an otherwise lush and hook-laden collection of tracks, while “Zunisha” – a song that the band jokingly mentions in initially having a three-minute runtime, but was extended to six due to the production cost being charged the same – slows the pace to offer an ethereal piece of emotional post rock.
It is with their second album, however, that Kitsugaki truly found their footing. Titled Pinturas Del Mundo Flotante, this is the record that introduced me to them and made me fall in love with their music (thanks again, WherePostRockDwells!), hosting a vivid account of Japan through a fantastic blend of post-rock, emo, and math rock. Particularly inspired by Japanese poems and haikus, anime, and fantastical animals such as the previously-mentioned kitsune that serves as the inspiration of their name, the group digs deeper into the concept behind this record:
‘Pinturas del Mundo Flotante comes from the Japanese word ‘ukiyo-e’, which literally translates to the name of the album, which is a woodblock print technique. Also keep in mind that the group and, especially the main composer, is quite an anime fan, and also that the composition of the album was made during the pandemic, time in which the Wano Kuni arc of the famous shonen One Piece took place in both the anime and the manga, and that it currently does. Said arc and the love for the work of Echiro Oda, as well as the attraction to artistic aesthetics and Japanese mythology were the greatest inspiration that led to the determination to incorporate the image and instrumentation of this country into the recording work… But it should also be noted that part of the inspiration for the album comes from traditional Colombian rhythms, as in “Pajarillo” which seeks to merge math rock and post metal with a traditional genre from our country called joropo.’
On Pinturas del Mundo Flotante, the band sounds as sharp and focused as ever, truly letting their math rock and Midwest emo penchants shine throughout it. The opening track “Amaki Shi Yo, Kitare” and the song that follows it, “Sotaisei”, introduce the colors that characterize the album in all its vibrant splendor. Coupled with a commanding production that highlights each instrument to a T, the tracklist sees Kitsugaki in the groove of it all, immersed in a picturesque world they’ve achieved in creating for all to marvel. This is wonderfully illustrated by the pastoral and festive semblance on songs such as “Kitsunes en Pandala” and the aforementioned “Pajarillo”, while the presence of Japanese folklore is much more notable here – from the album artwork and varying sound samples etched throughout the record to the incorporation of traditional Japanese instruments such as the shamisen (“Hikikomori & Kodukushi”) and the koto (“Shiro Koto”, also featuring Colombian singer-songwriter RAYNA).
Each member’s identity has also been shaped by this record through the surprisingly chill cut “Fantasmas de Wano”:
‘The name of the song “Fantasmas de Wano”… refers to the Nine Red Pods (‘Akazaya Ku-nin Otoko’)… Initially, “Fantasmas de Wano” would be called “Sunachi!” which was a war cry of the samurai in Wano Kuni, and means ‘leave your name and fame behind‘, which additionally influenced the adoption of the name change of the members of the group as it happened in One Piece at the beginning from the Wano arc with the Mugiwaras. Luffy was called ‘Luffytaro’ and Zoro was called ‘Zorojuro’, this with the purpose of hiding their identities. The same thing happened with the group, where each member opted for a new name:
‘Carlos Sebastián – Carlohachi
Juan Jaime – Juanjiro
Checho – Chechojuro
Juan Santiago – Juansaichi
Manuel – Manojuro‘
Kitsugaki also brought in another feature for the album, this being Yuki Watanabe from Presence of Soul for the beautifully cathartic “We Are Not From Japan”, all through an unlikely conspirator:
‘A few years ago, due to the issue of social networks, we had contact with one of the members of Caspian to ask him about his chain of analog pedals. There was good communication and years later we wrote to Philip (the guitarist) again, asking him for a recommendation from Japan to carry out the collaboration. Yukiko was interested; we sent her the lyrics in English together with the melodic script and later she took care of the translation, adaptation and even had creative freedom in the composition.‘
Indeed, Pinturas del Mundo Flotante broke the threshold for an already strong set of outputs for Kitsugaki – still, this stride has not been without its challenges. Genres like math rock and post rock are already niches within the rock umbrella, add to that the fact that they reside in spaces where there is a lack of support or knowledge about these music circles, and you find yourself in a place of restrain that, honestly, hits too close to home, being Puerto Rican myself and also forming part of a math rock-adjacent band. Even with all these roadblocks, the band explains how sticking with a DIY approach and presenting themselves to other audiences help leverage such challenges:
‘The local rock scene in Antioquia is actually very small and limited. There are some popular bands but they have been the same for like two decades. There are some emerging groups with new proposals though, but they don’t usually go far, locally speaking, due to a lack of support and interest from the masses. There is still a small niche of people who enjoy these new proposals in spaces that are mostly DIY, carried out by the same alternative music bands, normally these spaces are born through exchanges with bands from other Colombian cities such as Cali and Bogotá. Speaking of all this, we would say that this has been one of the biggest challenges, the lack of support at the local level greatly limits the probability of the bands to make a name for themselves, but for this very reason we have aimed to reach foreign markets such as Europe and Asia where, according to our statistics, we have a good number of listeners already thanks to our efforts. Our goal for the future is to get to play in these spaces and to reach even more foreign ears through digital platforms, starting with nearby places like Mexico where we feel there is a greater interest in alternative music in terms of Latin-American countries.‘
I reckon that Pinturas del Mundo Flotante is able to become a catalyst for overcoming such obstacles and I truly believe this will be much more evident with the latest singles they’ve put out until now. Last year, they released the euphoric, reimagined version of “Hikikomori & Kodukushi”, “Ciudad Bucle (Hikikomori & Kodukushi)“, a testament to their growth as a post-rock outfit with a sonic breadth and tact that could easily rival some of their genre contemporaries. “Nuestra Casa” follows it, once again introducing a new facet for the band that sees them delving into their own take of math pop and also giving a taste of what’s to come.
Oh, and there’s vocals this time.
‘Regarding “Nuestra Casa” and our next EP which is our first record that features actual lyrics and vocals, it was just kind of an experiment for us. We like to keep trying new things with every record we make and since our music is mostly instrumental, adding vocals and writing lyrics was quite a new challenge. We also tried to take it a little more on the ‘mainstream’ side while keeping the post/math rock elements which have always been very influential to the band. We’re still deciding which path our new songs after this EP will take, but one thing is for sure that is that we’ll keep experimenting new soundscapes so we can keep reaching new ears.‘
“Nuestra Casa” is a beautiful yet harrowing single that tells the tale of the kodokushi – a Japanese phenomenon revolving around the elderly dying alone and being undiscovered for a long period of time. The song contemplates on such a matter, with plaintive guitar leads soaring through the otherwise driving rhythms brought forth by the drums and bass. Both male and female vocals mark their presence with an emotive refrain that repeats throughout the track and which reflects on the fragility of life, alluding it to a home being struck by this sense of temporariness with imageries of withering gardens, pummeling ceilings and the imminence of grief. “Nuestra Casa” has personally become a song of the year contender and I am thrilled to see where they take it from here.
Luckily, the group has plenty of ideas in store: ‘Regarding what we have pending for this year, it will be an EP, Casa Kodokushi, consisting of four compositions, a live session of 3 unpublished works and, finally, an album produced in 8-bit, This is not Castlevania.‘ And yet, there’s also something that has me particularly excited. Remember how their influences come from varying musical backgrounds? ‘If we wanted to add that we already have written a post black metal album with a lot of Year of No Light influence, as soon as we have the resources we will start producing it, so we still don’t forget our beginnings.’
Friends, let’s give Kitsugaki a hand here; let’s make this shit happen. This needs to see the light of day – how can it not?
Kitsugaki are:
Carlos Sebastián Arroyave Sepúlveda – guitars and composition
Sergio Alejandro Atheortúa – guitars and sound engineering
Juan Jaime Sosa Henao – bass
Manuel Alejandro Lozano Rivillas – drums
Juan Santiago – keys
Make sure to follow their Bandcamp, Instagram, and Facebook pages to watch out for any updates!
