Ambient piano and understated electronic textures trace a passage from dormancy toward renewal on Zero, the debut EP from Tokyo-born composer and keyboardist KEISUKE YOSHIZAWA. Shaped by two years spent between Tokyo and London, the three-track instrumental release reflects a period of creative transition, with each composition marking a different stage in its progression from sleep to emergence and concluding with a collaboration with London-based creative team State is Flow.
As the artist explains: “Tokyo gave me madness and melancholy; London gave them back to me in a different key. When they met, they cancelled out — and I was left at zero, ready to begin again.”
“Zzz” opens the EP with an illuminated pulsation of synths, melding with subdued click-clacking backing effects as the melody hypnotizes — dazzling between the sonorous initial aura and a pluck-like resonance. The audible representation of sleep’s edge, where life seems to simmer between momentary awakening and subduedness, is artfully captured. The ensuing “birth” aptly resembles an awakening as delicate piano tones move with memorable warmth. A heartbeat-esque rhythmic backing bolsters the production’s magnetic flow.
Written with the London creative team State is Flow, “SiF” then emerges like dawn on the ocean, as soft piano and lush rhythmic thumps complement initial samples resembling bird-chirping and outdoor ambience. Midpoint electronic touches and prancing piano captivate further, as does the use of a real recording of the bells of St Paul’s Cathedral, whose dome could be seen from the artist’s studio window. Zero is a beautiful ambient success of an EP from KEISUKE YOSHIZAWA.
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The track is also featured in the genre-based, best-of Spotify compilation Obscure Ambient / Drone.
We discovered this release via MusoSoup.
