Makino Takuma

As guitarist in both the very avant Yuazawan and the bubblegum pop project Americo, Makino Takuma tries extremely hard to be contradictory. For his first solo album, In The Suburbs, Makino unveils a wonky take on the blues that defies easy description. Here’s monthly culture bible Studio Voice having a go:

“Makino’s abstract musical performance blurs the contours of the blues. While picking out an unexpected sound that reveals the wood and metal comprising the guitar, Makino lifts his head to reveal that his glasses have slipped down. Your heart, which wasn’t prepared for such a punchline, is struck.” Studio Voice

In The Suburbs, released in January on indie label GRID605, has received noteworthy praise, including that of underground scenemaker Otomo Yoshihide:

“Makino’s intelligent, complex tuning seems out of order. My first impression was that someone special had arrived. Before long, a friendship sprouted between us and I began to think of him as less mad. However, listening to his debut album again, I wonder if my first impression wasn’t correct. His very being comes out of his mistuned guitar. His is not the usual pose of madness struck by musicians . It’s the incurable despair found among Japanese youth raised in the suburban towns and the brave resolve that can only emerge from those places.” Otomo Yoshihide

Makino Takuma - New Residential Quarter Rag

The album concludes with a short set of live improv between Makino and Ito Atsuhiro, already profiled here as a member of Optrum. Ito’s axe is the snappy, crackling Optron, a combination of handheld fluorescent striplight and FX pedals that turns him into the Darth Vader of avant-noise. If such collaborations continue, Makino may eventually blur the contours of the blues enough to transform their current Claptonesque shape into something much more radical-palatable than before.