YOKAI Coup de Grâce

Description

'Japanese term referring to the surreal world of demons, spirits, bizarre entities –as humorous as they can be frightening-that interact with humans, sometimes through their dreams, to draw attention to the unseen(able) side of things.'Created in Brussels, Yôkaï boatsa large line-up of 8 multi-instrumentalists out of jazz, rock & improvisation scenes. Their music travels through delicate compositions, hypnotic grooves and coarse improvisations, exposing the listener to a novel blend of jazz, ethnic music and psychedelia. Hard to pigeonhole, Yokai's music manages to find a fresh spot between ethio-jazz, Ennio Morricone's soundtracks, 70's psych-rock and french composer François de Roubaix subtle harmonies.The band is part of what has been called ‘the new belgian jazz scene'(with groupssuch asBlack Flower, STUFF., MDCIII,Dans Dans, De Beren Gieren...) that recycle and fuse together influences and genres into contemporary formsand sounds.

On stage, the band's unique performances are an invitation to openyour ears, get itchy feet, dance and movearound or get lost in your inner dreams. Coup de grâceis their second full album on Humpty Dumpty Records.About Coup de grâce:Having to deal with cancellations and the sanitary situation, Yokai members agreed to get together and(also to)overcome the disappointement of non-touring during the summer of 2020. They thus booked sixdays at Robot Studio in Gent, Belgium and decided to work with ‘soundwizard' Pieterjan Coppejans, who besides recording and suggesting crazy surrealistic images for future –perhaps never to be produced-videoclips, also took great care of the mixing process. A lush mastering has been completed in London at Metropolis Studio by Matt Colton, who has noticeably worked for the likes of Thom Yorke, James Blake, Artic Monkeys and Nick Cave & Warren Ellis.

And what about the music? Nine tracks figure on the record, seven numbers by drummer/keyboard player Yannick Dupont, a collective improvisation exerciseand a ballad by guitar player Clément Nourry(Under The Reefs Orchestra). Some kind of drony textures waves songs together, from the relentlessopening track Mascotteto the cinematic Roubaix, from the cosmic echoes of Het Bosto the sweet and orchestral Laïka. B side starts up with saturated low-fi drums of the obsessive Amazonas, followed by the flat landscapes of Ledeberg. Tension comes down with the elegant composition Cheval de rêve then a new take on Sentinelle, title-track of Yokai's last EP from spring 2021. Ethereal lines and collective improvisation on Coup de Grâce,to close things off. With this new record, genre-blurring Yokaikeeps exploring new musical territories, places to sink in,get sunk in, get stuck into. The band's current synth-infused and orchestraldirection might borrow fromjazz, rock or psychedelia, let us hope it is just good open-minded contemporary fresh music that rocks!

Titles

01. Mascotte 06:33
02. Roubaix 04:10
03. Het Bos 08:35
04. Laïka 02:59
05. Amazonas 02:51
06. Ledeberg 06:03
07. Cheval de rêve 02:57
08. Sentinelle (Album version) 04:17
09. Coup de grâce 03:04

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