Kofū / 古風, by Meitei / 冥丁

Kofū / 古風

by Meitei / 冥丁

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chrisalletson the Kofu collection conjure up haunting images of an old world using modern collage technics. Meitei (meaning intoxicated) has produced some of the most beautiful music I have heard in recent years. Many thanks.

Trent Yakle Evokes someone exploring a town in Japan some time in the past, and after making their way down the street, on a rainy lonely day, heading inside and finding a magical disney adventure. Returning to the streets their adventure continues with different vibrant and colorful people and sights.

alienasu Texture is what I seek in music more than anything, and Meitei captures a lot of emotions and ideas without ever losing appreciation and exploration of texture. The kofu trilogy is something special Favorite track: Oiran I / 花魁 I.

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Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
180g heavyweight vinyl, capped obi, 16pp inserts (22 x 14cm) with words in Japanese and English from Meitei. Offset printed, full colour on premium matt paper. LP ships with tracking.

*Please note that the artist has intentionally omitted poems for tracks 5, 9, 11, and 13 in the inserts.

Includes unlimited streaming of Kofū / 古風 via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Download available in 24-bit/44.1kHz.

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CD
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Glass-mastered CD housed in a die-cut outer case with rounded obi, 16pp inserts with words in Japanese and English from Meitei. Offset printed, full colour on premium matt paper.

*Please note that the artist has intentionally omitted poems for tracks 5, 9, 11, and 13 in the inserts.

Includes unlimited streaming of Kofū / 古風 via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Download available in 24-bit/44.1kHz.

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Limited Edition LOST JAPAN Tote Bag
Bag
The original Meitei 'LOST JAPAN' tote bag in black and navy lightweight cotton canvas. Made in Japan. 39 (L) x 31 (W) cm.

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Limited Edition Kofū Post Card Set
Poster/Print
Set of 5 postcards with photography by T. Enami. Offset printed, full color on 210gsm premium paper by TAKEO.

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1.	Kintsugi / 金継ぎ 01:06	buy track
2.	Man'yō / 万葉 04:12	buy track
3.	Oiran I / 花魁 I 03:27	buy track
4.	Sadayakko / 貞奴 03:14	buy track
5.	En'nichi / 縁日 01:54	buy track
6.	Nyōbō / 女房 04:38	buy track
7.	Urameshi-ya / うらめしや 04:22	buy track
8.	Oiran II / 花魁 II 04:07	buy track
9.	Otojirō / 音二郎 00:53	buy track
10.	Shōnen / 少年 08:02	buy track
11.	Kyōshū / 郷愁 01:12	buy track
12.	Gen'ei / 幻影 06:12	buy track
13.	Sūki / 数寄 02:13	buy track

about

It began with ‘Kwaidan’, a simmering study on the lost art of Japanese ghost story-telling. Then there was ‘Komachi’, baptized in the earthly winds and static that define its comforting sonics.

On ‘Kofū’, Meitei masterfully closes his trilogy of lost Japanese moods with an engaging interrogation of artforms and aesthetics as a provocation — or, as fashioned in the album’s subtitle, a “satire of old Japanese aesthetics”. Each entry’s distinct flavour has earned Meitei acclaim for conjuring a bygone culture through his transportive form of ambient music. ‘Kofū’ arrives as a deconstruction of this approach. His first release with KITCHEN. LABEL, Meitei has quietly defied expectations set by his previous two albums, while continuing to challenge modern notions of Japanese sounds.

Once again, Meitei resumes his focus on a Japan that has long ceased to be. This time, ‘Kofū’ is deliberately playful in bridging a sensibility that connects this imagined past to the present. Fractured piano chords are the first to greet you on ‘Kintsugi’ before they make way for a spectral elegance that parades the haunted mask of Kwaidan on ‘Man'yō’.

But like an ambient soothsayer schooled in the art of the 808s, Meitei quickly drives ‘Kofū’ with propulsion on ‘Oiran I’, which shares a sibling in Side B track ‘Oiran II’. On both songs, he builds tension served up by flickering hip-hop rhythms — achieved by carefully processing old drum and metal sounds — with a subversive spirit unforeseen in any of his work thus far. Dissecting vocal recordings to the point of incomprehensibility, Meitei aims for something stirring beyond- words — not unlike J Dilla and his mountain of cut-up soul samples, or The Caretaker with decaying 78s. He abides by a principle attributed to the master Hayao Miyazaki: “Beyond logic speaks of human nature”.

‘Kofū’ allows full immersion into fragments of the past without the trappings of nostalgia. The tracklist is denoted by prominent (and unseen) figures of this history. Tracks ‘Sadayakko’ and ‘Otojirō’ are named after renowned entertainers from the Meiji era, while ‘Nyōbō’ is dedicated to a long-suffering line of working class women within a patriarchal Japanese society. The sounds of ‘Oiran’, sharing the name of the title bestowed upon courtesans, were sparked after learning about the treatment of red light district workers within this era. It paints a grim picture of baidoku (also known as syphilis) and its ravage spread.

These stories cloud the overall mood of ‘Kofū’, but Meitei takes a Mizoguchi-like approach to mould that unimaginable pain with tenderness. ‘Oiran I’’s hidden subtitle is Hana, and ‘Oiran II’ is Shiokaze. As Meitei explains, “Hana means gorgeous and glorious. Shiokaze is the sea breeze — for her life.” Tracks like ‘Urameshi-ya’ and ‘Gen'ei’ provide a meditative space amidst the turbulence, while ‘Shōnen’ takes a turn for the cinematic. The eight-minute odyssey is engulfed by shadowy voice loops, mixed best for a headphone experience in a solitary setting.

Meitei bids farewell to an expedition first sparked by a passion for a long-forgotten cultural past. ‘Kofū’ is a definitive conclusion with an open invitation to listeners from Japan and beyond — encouraging continued appreciation of this sacred part of history, wholly untethered from the world at large.

credits

released September 27, 2020

Composed & Arranged by Meitei
Mastered by Chihei Hatakeyama at WPM Mastering, Japan

Director: Meitei
Design by Ricks Ang
Photography by T. Enami c.1900 - c.1907

Released by KITCHEN. LABEL
KI-028 Ⓟ & © 2020 KITCHEN. LABEL

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Meitei / 冥丁 Hiroshima, Japan

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Kofū / 古風

by Meitei / 冥丁

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Limited Edition LOST JAPAN Tote Bag Bag

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Streaming + Download

$11 USD or more

Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

$26 USD or more

CD
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

Limited Edition LOST JAPAN Tote Bag
Bag

Limited Edition Kofū Post Card Set
Poster/Print