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LP+CD
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R-N 153LTD-LP
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Limited deluxe edition of Kyoka's 2014 album Is (Is Superpowered) (R-N 153CD). 180-gram LP packaged in handmade cardboard slipcase with silkscreened Kyoka logo designed by Hamburg-based illustrator Alex Solman. Includes CD and download code for the 12 tracks on the CD plus a Japan-only bonus track. On Is (Is Superpowered), Kyoka uses her own voice much more often than usual, in the form of short snippets as well as longer sung melodies. These elements are set and arranged as if they were an autonomous instrument. Sometimes these voices give the impression of being a Babel-esque language mix-up, or even a kind of cryptic message for the listener, as found in the song "Meander." The production process of the record was heavily supported by her label-mates Frank Bretschneider and Robert Lippok -- a unique production team in the history of Raster-Noton. While Lippok focused on preserving the roughness and complexity of Kyoka's compositions, Bretschneider concentrated on refining their fluidity and focus. Both tried to keep the vitality and hyperactivity of the initial tracks without losing their distinctive eccentricity. Although Kyoka's sound is often somewhat chaotic, it is by no means stressful, but energizing and easy to enjoy. The only exception to this can be found in "Piezo Version Vision," the noticeably roughest track of the record. Her particularly progressive style is best reflected by the song "Re-pulsion," a rolling groove combined with unusual clicks and snares and topped with crazy-sounding voice fragments. The album thus further deepens what she initiated with Ununpentium/iSH (R-N 115EP), released in 2012 as part five of Raster-Noton's Unun series. It presents a stylistically broader spectrum of Kyoka's music, but at the same time exhibits the fresh and positive, sometimes even child-like attitude for which she is already known.
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