I’ve been a fan of Rie Nakajima for longer than almost any other sound artist, but I’ve surprisingly never written at length about her solo material for the site (though I have reviewed two releases by O Yama O, her pop-inflected duo project with Keiko Yamamoto, and Free Percussion, a V/A comp curated by fellow fan Francesco Covarino to kick off tsss). This latest tape on Tokyo imprint ato.archives is as great a first as any, a full-length live session that showcases everything I love most about her work. Those who have been to or even just seen footage of a Nakajima performance are familiar with the intimacy she creates with her arrays of miniature electroacoustic devices, which tap and twirl and trundle in the space encircled by an attentive crowd. The 40ish-minute set that comprises Unshaping, recorded in a castle courtyard in France all the way back in 2016, starts out quiet and reserved even by her standards. Natural outdoor ambience and noises from the audience—exclamations and murmurs, footsteps crunching on grass—are as much in focus as the soft clatter and whir of the various gizmos, even when more are activated and the soundscape gets denser. The way it gently phases in and out with the breeze is breathtaking. That dynamic continues on the B side, which might be even better than the A… the first third or so is lush and magnetic, the crystal-clear fidelity showcasing the tiniest of textures.
Noise Not Music 