Ekual
Hevhetia, 2021
8/10
The esteemed vocalist Yumi Ito returns with the multi-instrumentalist Szymon Mika by her side, and together they bring plenty of color and texture to 7 songs that might bring to mind Gretchen Parlato, Theo Bleckman or even Joni Mitchell.
“Minha flor” opens the listen with Mika’s exquisite guitar playing alongside Ito’s pretty, expressive singing as jazz and pop meet in a very artistic way, and “Float and drift” follows with a dreamy, absorbing display of poetic beauty where Ito’s impressive range is explored amid the meticulous acoustic guitar.
In the middle, “Data beta” displays Mika’s mesmerizing ronroco as Ito showcases incredible scatting skill, while “Longing”, the album’s best, offers agile and warm melodies populating the stirring landscape.
“Running” and “Yumika” exit the listen, where the former benefits from minimal drums, twinkling guitar, whistling, and, of course, Ito’s stunning pipes, and the latter showcases proficient scatting in a very playful finish to a very adventurous record.
An album that’s nature-esque at its core, the pair cultivate sweeping harmonics, timeless melodies and much exploration on this very well thought out and easily enjoyable body of work that bridges classical, jazz, pop and art leanings like few others could.
Travels well with: Kilian Kemmer Trio- Und Zarathustra Tanzte; Cecilie Strange- Blikan