Nothing like some unforeseen collaboration to really light the fuse of one’s creative endeavors, am I right? Sometimes you have to reach out to talent beyond your own circle to establish a push and pull that will enable you to unlock new facets of your vision. This is what happened earlier this year when renowned ambient producer Chihei Hatakeyama teamed up with jazz drummer Shun Ishiwaka (a justly acclaimed talent in his own right) to record and release Magnificent Little Dudes Vol. 1, a collection of tracks that added some deft propulsion to Hatakeyama’s generous soundscapes.
Including a feature from none other than extraordinary voice artist Hatis Noit, the aforementioned record combined the two men’s talents and key aesthetics into a new and exciting end product that tied together loose ends from ambient, jazz, and shoegaze. In fact, their ethos for Magnificent Little Dudes Vol. 1 was drawn from sources like Alice Coltrane, My Bloody Valentine, Les Rallizes Dénudés, and Keiji Haino – now that’s a line-up!
As surprising as the initial drop of their collaborative record was, the end result sounded so natural that it appeared to be the logical point of convergence of their respective careers. But things didn’t stop there: Hatakeyama and Ishiwaka actually got together once more to record a second instalment of their Magnificent Little Dudes. A single-day session yielded enough material to bolster their team efforts, which is very much appreciated if you ask me.
For today’s premiere, Gearbox Records were kind enough to ask Everything Is Noise if we’d be interested in having the second single of said sophomore album, and who in their right mind would say no to that? And thus I’m happy to present to you “M5”, the penultimate track off Magnificent Little Dudes Vol. 2!
Clocking in at almost 19 minutes of unadulterated sonic bliss, “M5” never becomes traditionally heavy but definitely skirts the lines of rock music at certain points of climax. It’s a drawn-out, effect-laden piece of minimalist cosmic shoegaze that sets the listener onto a path towards the void between stars. Ishiwaka’s drumming adds a borderline-krautrock tension and energy to the blissed-out guitar parts Hatakeyama gleefully smears into space, their chemistry feeding off the separate angles at which they approach music. Grab a pair of headphones, tune in, and fade out.
Hatakeyama himself has the following to say about his and Ishikawa’s latest single:
‘As for “M5”, I was aiming to create shoegazer-sound. Although it may not have turned out to be much of a shoegazer, but it definitely was the most rock-sound compared to other tracks. This track seems closest to what I wanted to do when I was younger. If there was a time machine, I would go back and tell my younger self that I will have the opportunity to play session with a great drummer in 20 years. “M5” is my favorite track among the entire session. You see, metal was what got me into music to begin with.‘
If you liked the new single “M5”, be sure to pre-order your copy of Magnificent Little Dudes Vol. 2, which will come out on October 18 via Gearbox Records. Be sure to follow Chihei Hatakeyama (Bandcamp | Twitter | Website) and Shun Ishiwaka (Twitter | Website) for more inspiring music and glimpses of their goings-on.
