Sachiko - "Anro" (2012) [Utech Records]

I realize it may seem like I now live in Utech's "releases" page, but I'm entirely willing to defend that decision. Utech's release page currently looks suspiciously like I'm taking notes for my Top 10 lists. Sky Burial's Aegri Somnia, Mats Gustafsson's Bengt, Locrian collaborations, William Fowler Collins, on and on . . . 

I'd never heard of Sachiko before Jon handed me this copy of Anro, I'll admit freely. She belongs on this list though: she's combined the sort of minimalist pulse I love from Woelv and Thuja's warmly natural chaos of keyless, unmetered chaos into a full-mind-capturing sound that precludes the simultaneous commission of any activity other than "listening to Sachiko." Because nothing else ever repeats or stays constant, the pulse (a string quartet infinitely combining drone, wide vibrato, and a japanese-pentatonic ostinato) destroys the passage of time rather than making it drag on--not that I'd mention any names like Riley or Reich. I don't know (short of checking the clock) whether I've been listening to Anro for two minutes or two hours.

I'll admit, five times out of seven I think claims of ritual, magic, and the like by musicians are nearly absurd, and this is one of those five. While Anro would probably appeal to fans of ritualistic music and to fans of ritual itself, I don't recommend it on the basis of its ritual content. I'm not mystified. I just feel like Sachiko gave me something that doesn't come in shrinkwrap or a plastic case.

-V.