Kaito

I’m back from my summer vacation, folks! Did you miss me? I spent about a week on a beach [in Italy] doing absolutely nothing. I don’t think I even listened to music much [okay, I think there was some early 2000 trance – In Search Of Sunrise]. And now it’s time to buckle up and catch up to new music as the labels prepare to unleash the usual torrent of releases before the year’s end. And, once again, it is the labels that I have to trust here. And so, today, I turn to the French imprint InFiné, curated by Alexandre Cazac and Yannick Matray, “to pulse with love and passion”, which previously brought us Bruce Brubaker, Francesco Tristano, Vanessa Wagner, Murcof and Rone. It’s a nice collective of contemporary classical crossover with electronica, and I’m always curious about what they put their stamp of approval on next. Today, it’s Japanese electronic musician Hiroshi Watanabe, who records under the alias of Kaito and previously put out half a dozen releases on Kompakt in the early 2000s. The Kanji character, for his moniker, represents and captures the act of “unravelling the enigmas of the universe.” And this is what he tends to explore with his music in the latest Collection – a handful of EPs and singles from the last few years compiled on this upcoming release. There are some beat-driven versions in this selection, but I seem to mostly connect with the expansive ambience and falling piano keys of this “Summer Ocean”, and I hope that you do as well!