By Kavit Sumud | March 12th, 2013
Okay, so don’t give me that incredulous face when I tell you my favorite instrument, bar none, is the synthesizer. I get asked that question a lot reviewing music, and almost always my interrogator looks crestfallen. But it’s because I’m so strongly inclined toward sound to color synesthesia — where sounds involuntarily produce colorful tapestries in my brain, brought to my head via paint cannons shot out by the synthesizer.
However, you don’t have to have synesthesia to revel in the beauty that is Ta-ku‘s synth-work. Ta-ku has shown us through his exquisite 25 Nights for Nujabes series just how much of a master class producer he’s becoming. In that series, he was able to hone in on the endless potential sonic permutations of the synthesizer to create 25 synth-laden worlds that paid homage to the work of Japanese hip-hop producer Seba Jun (Nujabes).
Now, Ta-ku has taken that experience to Ghost Loft’s formerly mellow track by abandoning traditional arrangements in favor of organically melding a few distinct synth-laden worlds together. His instrumentation — especially during the first few seconds — evokes the tumultuous ocean scene from Fantasia in my brain (and also sound sampled from Crime!’s remix of Sebastien Tellier’s “Russian Attractions“).
But that’s just the beginning of your squally sea journey that Ta-ku’s prepared for your mind… and once you’re in, he’s trapped you for the ride. Don’t even even reach for the dinghy.