All songs written, recorded and produced by Kono Michi (violin, viola, vocals, toy instruments, computer) Percussion: Satoshi Takeishi.
Influences
Debussy, Ligeti, Alpha, Bartok, Stina Nordenstam, Taraf de Haidouks, Sparklehorse, Le Mystere des vois Bulgares, This Mortal Coil, The Bad Plus, Cocteau Twins, Webern, Massive Attack, Radiohead, Satie, Bjork, Kurtag, Tom Waits, Nathan Milstein, Portishead, Andrew Manze, Mum, Colleen, Thelonious Monk, Leonard Cohen, Dolly Parton, Sherban Lupu, Brian Wilson, The Cure, Bob Dylan, Art Tatum, Schnittke, Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber
Sounds Like
dark sparkly wood-and-horsehair-based trip-pop with some robot beeps here and a weeping gypsy there.
The new Kono Michi album '9 Death Haiku' is now available online at iTunes, Amazon, Napster, CDBaby and more...
See latest blog entry for an album review of '9 Death Haiku' in The Strad magazine.
Supersweet.org:
"Upon first glance, Kono Michi, aka Michi Wiancko, has a very
impressive musical CV. She’s played as a solo violinist for both the
New York and Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestras, worked with ex-Japan
frontman David Sylvian, and been part of various other orchestral
ensembles. 9 Death Haiku is her first album proper, and a rather
lovely collection of her own compositions, recorded at her apartment
in Brooklyn.
Michi’s inventive approach to musical expression is a mixture of
violin, toy instruments, and unique percussive stylings, courtesy of
Japanese percussionist Satoshi Takeishi, all underpinned by her almost
painfully beautiful voice, which sounds so clear and so pure that you
feel like it may have some sort of mystical healing properties that
could be utilised to ease headaches and the like.
As melodic as 9 Death Haiku is, it exists with a certain darkness
running through its veins. The songs, based on Japanese
deathbed haiku (if the title didn’t give it away), are dripping with
the kind of beautiful sorrow that somehow becomes uplifting. Through
the melancholic violins, and semi-classical arrangements shines a
stripped back simplicity that is unutterably beautiful. Equal parts
Bjork at her most minimalist and Portishead when Beth Gibbons is
feeling less depressed, her classical training is evident beyond the
more leftfield pretentions of either of the aforementioned ladies.
Truly, truly talented, in the classical sense of the word, Kono Michi
has made an album that takes the ever-uneasy subject of death, and
makes it sound as serene a process as one could hope for. Play the
album, close your eyes, you can almost see the light. - Steve Gislam"
Will Scott's new album, GNAWBONE is here!!! The CD is available at CDBaby and other online retailers.
Over three years in the making, GNAWBONE is Scott's fully-produced studio debut and features a crack team of hand-picked musicians as well as guest performances by Jan Bell, Jolie Holland, Samantha Parton, and Preacher Boy (the album's producer).
You have surely heard about the tragic death of Neda - a brave young woman who was murdered in Iran just for peacefully protesting with her father on the streets of Teheran.
hey michi, i love you too dude, but what's up with you using my "bill collector" name?! SO formal! :) you rock!! when we come to the east coast i'm hoping i can work it so we get to see you play?! that'd be FUCKING AWESOME!!! and um, isn't WHY? the shit?
Hi! Saw you perform in Henry's Jazz Cellar in Edinburgh and been meaning to say it was terrific! Told my Manchester friends to catch you but, alas, two were in London when you were there and a third one was sick. I hope the gig went well.
Warm regards
Eric P.S. The free CD you gave out in Edinburgh is fab! Thank you. :-)
Thought we’d let you know that we played your track "War Correspondence" on BBC Radio Bristol Introducing this Saturday morning just gone. Sorry we couldn’t let you know earlier but you can still hear it anytime this week using the on line "Listen Again" feature on the BBC i-Player, there’s a link to it from our profile.
Happy Dynamic Living!
Richard Pitt & Gary Smith BBC Radio Bristol Introducing
YAYUUUH!!!! i've been tracking the package as if it were martin gore and i see it's cleared customs! and is en route to mike's AS I TYPE THIS!!! have a great tour michi! hope to see you soon! :D
