SYLIANRUE - Reflection (Self Release)

The Slow Music Movement
12 minutes ago
2 min read

This is the cover for SYLIANRUE's, Reflection album, It shows a blurry orange flower against a soft blue background, creating a dreamy and abstract feel with hints of green leaves.

SYLIANRUE is the solo project of Tokyo's Yuichi Nishikawa. Starting off his musical journey as a vocalist, he's since shifted attention to composition and production due to vocal dystonia. Rather than wallow in self-pity, he's made the most of this adversity by finding a welcoming home for his blend of ambient, neoclassical and electoacoustic works in Japan's theatrical and contemporary dance scene.

Yuichi Nishikawa (aka SYLIANRUE) plays an electric cello amid synthesizers and cables, under green and red lighting on a stage. Focused and intense atmosphere.

Always searching within to get a better understanding of the world around him, Nishikawa has certainly dug deep for his new full length release, the aptly entitled "Reflection". He's even enlisted a classical ensemble - Ayaka Notomi, Hirofumi Taniguchi, Masaki Shono, Shuga Hayahashi, Tayayoshi Okuizumi to augment his painstaking production with their orchestral prowess, and help articulate his thoughts and emotions.

The album starts off with an ambient piano trip down memory lane, the keys accompanied by dusty, time worn field recordings, static and no shortage of melancholy, which leads us nicely the LP's title track that announces itself with a classical string refrain and poignant moments of silence, before steadily evolving with welcome ambient detailing and eventually an unrestrained orchestral passage, before it fades into an ambient void.

Next up is the sprawling, eleven and half minute long - and not a moment too short, thoughtful, patiently unfolding "Floating Dust" - a gentle, graceful and ever so lovely ambient neoclassical arrangement that should be on every introvert's contemplation playlist. "See Saw" sees Nishikawa come of out of vocal retirement with some ASMR whispers, gently spun words and impressive vocal versatility which sit pleasantly on a guitar led electroacoustic cushion. Starting existence with the sound of a refreshing drink being poured, "Cobolt Blue" then morphs into droning, quivering ambient excellence.

Percussion and guitar marks the folkloric meets classical abstractions of "Sensing and Reaction" before "Anechoic Room" sees Nishikawa show off his vocal chops again with his folk got soul delivery that rides and impressive jazz licked, unusually beat and percussion driven track aided by Keigo Iwami & Shuntaro Oishi - more well chosen collaborators.

And so we continue in the second half. I could tell you about the electroacoustic dreaminess, soundscape guitar noodling, distorted electronic visions, ethereal folk, ambient pop or the circle closing piano meditation of "Deep In Thought", the album's last word, but I imagine you've already hit play and are already on your own, deep listening journey of reflection. Highly recommended.