Deep-thinking Bristolian ‘tronica
Who They?
Well, of that we can’t exactly be sure. Yuki Ame is an alias, he’s male, he released his first track a couple of years ago, and that’s pretty much all we know. Oh, he hails from Bristol, so we might detect the influence of another frustratingly unknowable figure, Banksy. Or, you know, maybe it is Banksy…
Why Yuki Ame?
Yuki Ame’s backround is in hip hop and sampling, and that influence is evident, stylistically anyway, on his debut EP ‘Anamnesis’. The music he makes carries a tension between darkness and light, pitching serene ambient sounds together with grubbier, more pensive gestures. Key track ‘Love Me’ has a sparse, electro-derived beat around which wordless vocals swirl, ebb and flow, like the stateliness of Orbital’s ‘Halcyon’ with more street smarts. ‘Mykonos’ is pure warmth, featuring an evolving arpeggio and a ‘Spastik’-esque percussion loop that on their own would sound nervous and uncomfortable, but which are instead neatly enveloped by beatific arrangements.
Tell Us More…
Whoever Yuki Ame really is, he is undoubtedly one of music’s deep thinkers: his shrouded image is all driven by a philosophical study of the concept of identity within music, rather than trying to avoid the taxman. He makes a good and valid point about the need to know something about the individual behind the music, but one that just makes you want him to rip off his mask, Scooby Doo-style, and tell us who he really is.
‘Anamnesis’ is out on Panel
