Dance music can be disorientating, often repetitive and by nature familiar. Satoshi Tomiie’s sophomore album is a perfect example of why this need not be a problem.
The aptly named “Last Night (In this dream I watched a film of a dream within this dream)”, sets a dizzying tone, with an extended arpeggio that builds slowly and erratically before adjusting itself to an airy 4/4 beat, suddenly gaining lucidity without sacrificing the freedom with which it rises and falls. It is dreamlike in character, conflicting comfortably as it glides and fades; as it sweeps and emerges.
It does not define new ground, but nor does it need to. Instead, New Day occupies a terrain well-travelled, choosing to explore it with intelligent, controlled, sweeping techno.
As the delicate vocal of the title track enters, it artfully stands out against the understated instrumental backdrop whilst adding an element of life to the inquisition, the album’s bleary-eyed awakening. It is here that the New Day truly begins, but it is “Nature Abstraite” that provides entry into the world outside. An injection of pace, an intensification of activity, the prelude to the gentle grooves of “Thursday, 2AM” unlocks the more progressive and direct half of the LP, building with the moody tones of “Calm Me Up” and the floatier “Momento Magico”. With every deceleration comes the subtle addition of fleeting new elements, ghosting in and out like the flickering of consciousness. It is this that magnifies the stuttered claps , techno bleeps and low rumble of “Wave Side Back” and “0814”, woven myriads of rich low-end tones which sooth at home but could shake walls through a large sound system.
Perhaps though, it is the grand finale that reveals most about the album, with the peaceful emergence of the strings carving open the muted bass melody like light revealing itself to an ascending diver. With the pristine “Sinfonia” acting as its overture, “Cucina Rossa” is an assured extension of the album’s narrative, probing the surface with exquisite serenity until the dramatic fall to silence. Moments later, and this silence is broken once more, the bass breaking through again but free of the pressure that had muted it before. Another new day begins.
Andrew Kemp