Yoko-Zuna – Voyager
(LOOP)
Reviewed by Tim Gruar.
It’s ‘official’ – Voyager is the most vibrant, creative innovative and down right awesome album I’ve heard all year. Period. Let me tell you why. Built like a proper prog-rock/jazz/funk/hip-hop/fusion album should be, this is a genuinely engaging journey into sound and beyond with music that blends rock, hip hop and avant-jazz. Tunes change mid-tempo from sound washes landscapes to cinematic overtures and stadium size jams. This has everything and demands many listens to get your ears around.
Set to drop on 16 November, Voyager is the latest release Yoko-Zuna. From their jazz school roots, the Auckland four-piece has built a cult following on the back of their Yoko-Zuna Plays series which they ran out of the Ponsonby Social Club, covering an eclectic set including Daft Punk, Radiohead, J-Dilla, Outkast & A Tribe Called Quest. Currently, they’re hot property on the festival circuit across Australasia, with a reputation built on the back of two critically acclaimed releases This Place Here and Luminols.
Voyager is more than just an extension of previous work. Starting with some mellow sound washes in the intro, Prelude, is the perfect cinematic opener. It just exudes the legend: ‘add credits here’. And, boy, do they bring the talent, as the album further expands on their unique alchemy of sub-electronic frequencies, infectious melodic and immense bass-synth-fuelled drops. There are jaw dropping contributions from Berlin based Noah Slee, Ladi6, MeloDownz, JessB, and SWIDT. The specific riffs and beats that first appear in Prelude also set a theme up which reappear throughout the ‘voyage’, right to the closing track, making this a good trainspotting exercise for keen listeners ad musicologists alike.
Producer/DJ P-Money slices and dices beats and samples from previous releases on the centrepiece of the album, the 10-minute long beat-based epic The Lovecraft Mixtape. Noah Slee’s deliciously raspy voice brings some real emotion to the strings and understated jazz guitars on Minority. I was pleased to see a the temptation to upsize his appearance with auto-cue treatments, which are back in vogue, was not taken up, making this track immensely more genuine.
If you need a summer tune to fight of these spring rain clouds then go straight to the noveau disco on January Sun. Although it’s not specified in the liner notes, I suspect their very funky vocals have been laid down by Mr P-Diggs or a very good impersonator of his. One of my fav’s is actually the prog-rock’n’moody Television which swaps the usual manic free guitars for a digital interpretation – it’s like Herbie Hancock’s has joined the Mahavishnu Orchestra!
JessB and Bobandii take centre stage on the explosive jazz-funk dance track Energy. This one grows fast and is super-infectious and will bring the house down at the next R&V Festival. Also worth honourable mention are the two early tracks Chunky Munky & January Sun’ which both feature some very clever chopped up vocal samples, stolen from previous releases and re-brewed with some dirty funk’n’beats to give extra oomph! Despite all the vocal guests there are also some brilliant instrumentals such as Nortlov, which showcases the skilful guitar playing of Kenji Iwamitsu-Holdaway, before rolling straight into Frank Eliesa’s festival-ready synth-bass stomping on Voltron.
Much of the album was recorded at Auckland’s Stebbing Recording Centre and North Western Recordings in Auckland, but the majority of recording took place at Frank (Eliesa’s) House. Ok, not a fancy studio but in many ways perfect for a band that is not really a conventional set up. These guys believe in taking the bull by the horns, mixing up styles and ideas, so it’s perfect that they would choose to record in a less conventional, my DIY environment.
Voyager is just that, a voyage. This is a well crafted and honed studio that sounds like it was recorded live on the stage, with the energy and impact of a great Festival set. They are unique and innovative. Listening is only one half of the story. Looking forward to seeing them on tour very soon.
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