Susumu Yokota - Grinning Cat (Leaf, 2001)

1 I Imagine (2:34)
2 King Dragonfly (4:42)
3 Card Nation (4:00)
4 Sleepy Eye (2:44)
5 Lapis Lazuli (3:49)
6 Balloon In The Cage (1:02)
7 Cherry Blossom (5:25)
8 Love Bird (3:49)
9 Fearful Dream (4:10)
10 Tears Of A Poet (4:36)
11 So Red (3:23)
12 Flying Cat (5:52)
13 Lost Child (3:26)

La base de ce disque repose essentiellement sur le piano, oscillant entre minimalisme et acid jazz, mélodies douces et simples, comme une plume effleurant l'air...

More than anything, Yokota's 1999 made me realize that I have a lot to learn about dance music, and my living room is probably not the best classroom. But it didn't affect the strong affinity I feel for Yokota's home listening material, a connection only strengthened upon hearing Grinning Cat. Where Sakura found Yokota exploring the sonic properties of the reverberating guitar, Grinning Cat focuses heavily on piano. The acoustic keyboard treatments vary from looped lullaby fragments, fuzzy with white noise on "Sleepy Eye," to the more traditional "Tears of a Poet," which seems like incidental film music from the 40's. Some of the piano parts are definitely sampled, with the loops cut in an intentionally jarring and disorienting manner. Others featuring winding melodies stretching across several bars which are surely played by Yokota.

The thematic unity of the piano aside, this record finds Yokota moving in ten different directions at once. It's almost as if these pieces were composed as singles, such is the varied feel. "Imagine" is a minimal affair, haunting and sad, with a floral melodic pattern set against samples and looped vocals. And then "King Dragonfly" comes right back with flanged drum programming, tribal clapping music and buoyant piano flourishes. "Card Nation" could be using a sampled Chopin Nocturne as its centerpiece, but it surrounds the tight keyboard loop with deep electronic percussion and distended Popol Vuh-style choir.

Grinning Cat runs the rhythmic gamut as well. "Cherry Blossom" chugs along on a 4/4 bass thump, dripping almost unbearably poignant shards of stained piano tone on top. "Love Bird" uses only handclaps and a shaker to set the tempo for the simplest melody on the record, Windham Hill as imagined by a computer. "So Red" takes a stab at laptop jazz, with tightly programmed snare rolls and a double bass ostinato.

The beautiful thing about this many-headed beast of a record is the possibilities for future directions. Yokota has a deep well of inspiration to draw from, and is extremely comfortable with a staggering array of styles. I may never begin to know and understand exactly where he's coming from, but I'm content to explore this patch for now. We'll see where I can go from here.

- Mark Richard-San, Pitchforkmedia

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