Inspired by Japanese kankyō ongaku and the artist Jen K. Wilson’s Japanese Canadian ancestry, Yutori is a minimalist ambient triumph from Wilson’s project Buildings and Food. Utilizing pentatonic melodies, sequencers, and field recordings, the album embraces the titular philosophy of slowing down. It presents a spacious, post-classical electronic meditation that trades hurried structures for unhurried reflections on mental and physical peace.
“Geese” opens the album with a captivating, ethereal blissfulness. Serenely starry-eyed synth pads bolster a hypnotic synth arpeggio, uplifted by elegant infusions of twinkling electronics and seabird chirps. “Circles” continues the lushly caressing appeal, here more understated in the pulses of synths and overall tonal steadiness. “Bus Stop” also enthralls, infusing occasional chiming bell sounds that invoke a childlike innocence of riding a bike during a rainy day.
A sense of wonder is conveyed within “4 a m,” where bloopy synth tones and simmering pad resonance meld with playful introspection, as if readying for a bright day ahead. Elsewhere, album finale “Home” stuns with an elongated synth entrancement, exuding a shimmering effervescence that’s bolstered by bubbly synth elements. The organ-like grandiosity carries through, intertwining seamlessly with the spacey electronic frequencies. An album full of dreamy, gorgeous blissfulness, Yutori is a thorough success from Buildings and Food.
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“Geese” is also featured in the genre-based, best-of Spotify compilation Rainy Days and Late Night Drives.
We discovered this release via MusoSoup.
