What Are You Listening To?

[Ruby]

DUNCAN MACKAY - Kintsugi
 


Kintsugi is the Japanese word used to describe ‘golden joinery’, or ‘golden repair’. It is the art of repairing broken pottery using a precious metal, allowing the cracks or breaks to remain obvious and through this medium, exposing the vessel’s history and emphasising its imperfections. It’s a philosophy – the embracing of the flawed. I like it. Wiki says - Kintsugi can relate to the Japanese philosophy of "no mind" (無心 mushin), which encompasses the concepts of non-attachment, acceptance of change, and fate as aspects of human life.

On the second and title track which starts at around 3.15, you hear a vessel smashing and the music proceeds to make it whole – with a brief vocal segment towards the end of the track.

There is the sound of the orient here in places, along with loads of psychedelic syncopation which will be the delight of fans of Emmerson and suchlike. The busier tracks are interspersed with more straight-ahead melodic pieces – they seem to alternate; the music is very proggy, of course, fairly experimental in places (although a little anachronistically so), and I would venture to say is recognisably Mr Mackay – his signature all right! I think Duncan himself is responsible for all the instrumentation, whether synthesized or not (the Hammond B3 is obviously a feature), and the occasional vocals are by a singer named Rebeka Rain who appears to hail from the land of Oz.

I get the minimal approach, and I don’t dislike the album - there is a lot to enjoy, but I have to say, I think it would have benefited from another layer or two somehow, another facet to give it depth and finish it off. It reminded me, in places, of Pete Barden’s solo album Seen One Earth - it’s clean which is great, sure, but whereas Bardens achieves a cohesion and a rounded sound, this is just too much on one level, IMveryHO . I have listened several times but could be talking rubbish of course – never quite certain! Lol!! And to add insult to injury, I’m not sold on the production aspects either – no expert but I don’t think it’s good - the mix bothers me, and that surprises me somewhat, or maybe I'm completely wrong and it's intended?? Or could it be kintsugi??!! In which case my apologies for being critical.   

Released in late February this year by Marquee Records, Japan, on their Belle Antique label. There are no clips of individual tracks so this is a link to the whole album …