Edinburgh-based composer and pianist Ryoka Hagiwara debuts with ICHI, a solo piano album navigating fleeting memory and fragile identity through a striking command of dynamic contrast, shifting fluidly between serene contemplation, unsettling momentum, and frolicking vibrancy. Hagiwara’s range spans from jazz and pop to ambient and beyond, and this album thoroughly compels in its knack for memorable songcraft within a piano-focused intrigue.

Hagiwara’s masterfully dynamic use of tonal variety and tactful spaciousness is apparent right away, with “Obsessed.” The album’s opener stirs in its shifts between serenely contemplative passages and delectably unsettling moments. Sporadic, glistening piano moves with artful ease as a concise, punchy note bursts forth after the 30-second mark. Wintry, elegant piano then re-appears, the track dazzling in its mixture of those dreamily inviting moments and ominous momentum, the latter particularly apparent as the four-minute turn approaches, then settling into a serene glow.

Another standout track, “Table For One” trickles forth like gentle raindrops on a spring day, steadily accumulating though with an ethereal, caressing charm. The tonal direction here is more hypnotic and familiar, while the subsequent “Crosscurrents” delights with vibrant, expressive pushes from the get-go. The frolicking piano work on this track stuns, with hints of Stravinsky in the expressive, jumpy piano work. From illuminated, brisk cuts like those, to more gently unfolding stunners like “Restraint,” ICHI plays as a consistently resonating success from Ryoka Hagiwara.

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“Table For One” and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.

We discovered this release via MusoSoup.

The post Ryoka Hagiwara – ‘ICHI’ appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.