We all make decisions on what we share with others. Sometimes what we hide might run the gamut of what we feel comfortable expressing. However, in the case of virtuoso violinist Ikuko Kawai’s #2, I can’t understand why this album or the particular moment it was created in, appears as a mere footnote (which it doesn’t even) in her career. Far away from what Ikuko’s most known for, this mix of dance floor music with classically-minded technique should be something she should be proud of…yet it’s barely known (outside of a few choice circles).
Just imagine this. Imagine going deep into Yo-Yo Ma’s long, illustrious, career and discovering that he put out records early in his career under a pseudonym. Then, imagine that this career found him under the influence of Arthur Russell, creating music with his cello, touching on like-minded post-disco, minimalism, and classical motifs. Such a discovery, one can imagine, would be equal parts fascinating, surprising, and celebratory, something worthy of championing.
Of course, we know better. We know no such reality exists.
Yet, for fans of Ikuko Kawai in her current career, can you believe such a dream can be their reality?
Somewhere, deep in her musical history, was a time when Ikuko set aside her sheet music of Bartok, Stravinsky, and Beethoven, and turned on a groovebox, experimenting and exploring the music of Oakenfold, Heard, and the UK club scene.
It was in 1992, when a young woman from Kanagawa, fresh from excelling at the prestigious Tokyo University of the Arts, took a left-turn from an obvious path. Rather than graduate and look for a professional career on stage or in a chamber, Ikuko absconded from academia and the orchestra pit. Several lucrative offers fell to the wayside. Ikuko felt she had different things to learn. Ikuko left for a sabbatical to Paris and London to find herself.
It was in Europe, where Ikuko was introduced to the music of the avant-garde, and most importantly, discovered the possibilities and musicality in the beats and sound of dance music. During her stay in London, Ikuko saw it upon herself to push herself out of her comfort zone, and take vocal singing lessons to augment her violin skills. She wanted to do what seemed unlikely: marry her classical smarts with the emotion and possibility of the ‘90s UK house scene.
So in 1993, Ikuko took on the pseudonym of Ikko and convinced others to take a chance on her experimentation. Recording in London with Shiro Sagisu (best known for his future work soundtracking Neon Genesis Evangelion) and Martin Lascelles (noted English house producer best known for co-writing Force M.D.’s “Love Is A House” and producing club act, Desire), the trio came up with Ikko’s first 12-inch single, “Night In Blue”.
Mixing Ikko’s wonderfully romantic violin playing and chanteuse-style singing with the uptempo swing of house music couldn’t have been a better match. “Night In Blue”, rightfully so, became a bit of sensation finding its way onto the decks of influential DJs like Doc Martin in Los Angeles (who used it as a set closer) and in the UK, where sales rocketed among club music-enthusiasts. And on the strength of that privately-pressed single she was signed to Japan’s Polydor imprint and given leeway to do that for a whole album.
1994’s Ikko, her self-titled debut, was as the original liner notes pointed out, Ikuko’s expression of love for dance and orchestral music with “contemporary and borderless sensitivity”. Eleven tracks were created. The first half – the “Beat Tracks” – would be recorded in London. The latter half – the so-called, “Mellow Tracks” – would be recorded in Tokyo.
“Rejoice”, what would be it’s lead single, jumpstarts Ikko. Over a pounding 4/4 beat produced by Shiro, Martin, and guest, Paul Oakenfold, Ikuko completely makes us forget the lackluster attempts to combine garage music with strings. In her trusted arms, that wooden instrument becomes this liquid voice that blends beautifully with her impressive multi-layered vocals. Who needs J.Lo’s “Waiting On The Night” when you’ve got this?
Ikko is simply full with too many highlights to go into too much detail. Songs on it, like “Strike The Strings” and “Heaven ~Friday’s Classics” put a different spin on the club floor music being created. Taking full advantage of her chops, Ikuko was able to weave in a certain mercurial sensitivity that a vibrant instrument like her violin can impart. Likewise, all the production choices from the crew shuffled around, never staying completely put in one stylistic territory, letting Ikko prove that she could tackle acid jazz, trance, and more.
The “Mellow Tracks” from Ikko would allow her to flip the script. This side would allow Shiro and Ikko to compose some dare I say, “magical”, orchestral songs that showed Ikko the singer had a sophisticated range suited to go anywhere. On this side songs like “愛して満月” and “もっと、あなたに近づきたい” showed the more French-influenced side of her, crafting mood music perfect for soundtracking rainy and sunsetting days.
So what makes me suggest or urge you to rediscover Ikuko’s sophomore release, #2? Where her debut sounded exploratory, I think one year later, #2 is Ikuko in full flight. #2 is Ikko revealing herself through the music – without any tradeoffs.
Over a beat that reminds of space disco and the French house scene, Ikko predicts the nu-disco scene with “Peace And Harmony”, a wonderfully complex, sexy, and edgy, floating dance floor banger that hits differently (and harder) than anything on her debut. Officially produced by the duo of Mash, Shiro and Martin, come to their own as beat-makers on #2 creating songs that meet Ikuko’s high musicianship. Rather than divide the music into halves, all of Ikuko’s vision came together into one vision.
You hear it in Ikko’s mutation of Chaz Jankel’s post-disco classic, “Ai No Corrida”, into loose-limbed something else, aided and abetted by Ikuko’s violin placed front and center. And to prove that Ikuko hasn’t lost her explorative touch, watch her transform (or will) Chick Corea and Return Forever’s “Spain” into the chill room with her stunning reimagining of the fusion original.
Originals like “Getaway” really bring into light just how gorgeous house music can be with real vocals in it. On it, you get to hear Ikuko approach the ecstatic dance of trance, lacing the track with a certain melancholia (in both singing and playing) that gives it more of that levitating, Balearic, feeling. In a perfect world, such a track would have already inspired umpteenth remixes.
However imperfect our world is, there’s always room in our life for tracks from #2 like “Autumn Days” or “Eye To Eye”, that throw you curveball after curveball, introducing some of that spirited soul music Ikuko couldn’t quite get to on her debut. Vibing out on a Sunday drive was made for music like this.
#2 serves as a perfect entry point to Ikuko’s work in this era because you get to hear earlier tracks, like “Night In Blue”, reappear as “Night In Jazz…”La Nuit Bleue” or “Rejoice “Alive In 95” Re-Mix”, more muscular, explosive versions, where all those involved could dequantize a bit, could rearrange the ideas a bit more off the grid. This kind of looser feel, makes the sweeter tracks like “Aegean Blue” sound that much more human and inviting, and of a singular vision.
At the end of the day, I keep dreaming of a day when Ikuko comes on stage at Ministry Of Sound, to the skittering rhythms of “Claret Love”. Somewhere in that dream, I see her take a deep breath, prop her violin on her shoulder, and take us elsewhere, somewhere way back when this music meant something (at least to her). It’s a dream worth dreaming, don’t you think?