Reviews - yoshihirokikuchi.org

Graves and Orchestra Pits is a transcontinental duo utilizing guitars/electronics/drums in order to create an
ecstatic and unique sound mixing raw power with modern composition, subtle electroacousic alchemy and sonic
maximalism. They create a stunning kind of meta-music that sound anarchic and futuristic at the same time.
In 2008 composer/musician Daniel Vujanic began to shape vibrant bodies of sound. Atmospheric guitar lines,
morphing drone clouds, minimalist patterns and crunching electronics that wouldn't fit into the aesthetic and
musical parameters of his previous projects (Baja, Höhlenmusik Ensemble, E Jugend). The compositional results
were demanding a very specific rhythmical backbone. One that could underpin and enforce Vujanic's distillation
of euphoric noise, hallucinatory constructivism, and the hollow bones of rock 'n' roll. That's the point where
drummer Yoshihiro Kikuchi came in. An integral part of Japan's vivid noise music scenery and also a colorful
percussionist, he manages to combine massive minimalism, dense improv and ritualistic polyhythms.
REVIEWS FOR OUR 1st ALBUM “GRAVES AND ORCHESTRA PITS” CD, Utech Records (USA):
Montreal Mirror (Canada) : (9/10points)
I usually see ’em comin’ a mile away but this piece of plastic completely blindsided me with its utter brilliance.
Graves and Orchestra Pits is the perfect sucker punch that has as much to do with Bitches Brew and Red-era
King Crimson as with contemporary classical composition and mind-altering electronica. This duo is perfect
pairing, with multiple layers adding density while the dynamics are set free to soar. Most self-described “punkrock” bands would be considered laughable when stacked up against this epic opus. 9/10 Trial Track: “Spill the
Unicorn Blood” (Johnson Cummins)
Cvltnation.com
Blissed-out superdelic freakout transcendental goodness…this sounds weird, but I have been transported to a
universe where unicorns eat rainbows, the universe of HYPERLINK "http://www.utechrecords.com/
Releases2.html"Graves & Orchestra Pits. This dynamic duo’s self-titled release, out now on HYPERLINK "http://
www.utechrecords.com/"Utech records, is truly is otherworldly. Their songs are not songs in the normal sense,
but what is normal anyway? Actually, Graves & Orchestra Pits’ beautiful anarchic sonic portraits have power to be
the beacon for your dreams. Their music like the wind, ever-changing…better yet, their songs are kaleidoscopes
of sound. Within all of the turns & roundabouts, Graves & Orchestra Pits have a pop sensibility to their creations.
Trust me, with each listen of this record you will hear something new & strange at the same time. If punk rock is
about being yourself & creating your own world, this band 700% punk rock...
babyblaue-seiten.de : (12/15points)
German(original)/
Gitarrenklänge, Schlagwerk, viel Elektronisches und allerlei weitere, ergründbare (Flöten, Piano, Glockenspiel
z.B.) und undefinierbare Klänge und Geräusche werden auf "Graves And Orchestra Pits" zu einem
erfrischenden, krautig-experimentellen, postrockig-avantgardistischen Gemenge verbunden. Das Ergebnis ist
eine muntere Folge von einerseits ziemlich sperrigen und schrägen, andererseits aber auch "fast" schönen,
elegisch-klangvollen Tongeflechten.
Schallende und hallende E-Gitarrenmuster (mitunter ein wenig à la David Torn - als grober Anhaltspunkt),
voluminöse Synthesizer-Elektronikgewebe, verspielte Akustikgitarrenlinien, vibrierende Glockenspielakkorde,
warm brummendes Bassdröhnen und maschinelle Elektronikgespinste kommen hier aus den Boxen, anarchisch,
kosmisch, exotisch, rau und oft getragen und elegisch. Dazwischen eingestreut werden durchaus rockige, besser
postrockige Abschnitte (man höre z.B. "Moles"), die allerdings meist schnell degenerieren, sich freiformatig
verselbständigen und formloseren Klangkonstrukten Platz machen.
"Graves And Orchestra Pits" bietet beeindruckendes und sehr farbiges Klangabenteuer, Tonskulpturen und
Soundgewebe auf Postrockbasis, in denen vertrackte Kompositionen im Mittelpunkt stehen, sondern Klang,
Atmosphäre, Raum, Geräusch, Hall, die kreative Verwendung von Schall, mal Lärm, mal kaum vernehmliche
Gespinste und alle möglichen Nuancen dazwischen.
Das Album bleibt dabei aber immer gut hörbar. Natürlich fordert diese Musik Konzentration und melodische
Aufgeschlossenheit, doch derb, wüst oder richtig lärmend wird es selten. Vielmehr entstehen sehr
atmosphärische, mitunter auch karge, alles in allem sehr abwechslungsreiche und dichte elektro-akustische
Soundräume, irgendwo in der Schnittmenge von japanischen Noise-Exkursen, krautigen Elektronikexperimenten
und minimalistischem Postrock, die zu erkunden ich nur jedem Freund wirklich progressiver Klangschöpfungen
empfehlen möchte.
English(Google translated)/
Guitars, percussion, electronic and much more kinds, ergründbare (flute, piano, glockenspiel, for example) and
indefinable sounds and noises are connected to "Graves And Orchestra pits" for a refreshing, herbyexperimental, post-rock-avant-garde mixture. The result is a lively series of one hand quite bulky and sloping, the
other hand also "almost" beautiful, elegiac-sounding Tongeflechten.
Resounding and echoing guitar pattern (sometimes a bit à la David Torn - as a rough estimate), voluminous synth
electronics fabric, playful acoustic guitar lines, vibrating chime chords, warm humming bass drone and Machinery
Electronics fantasies come here out of the speakers, anarchic, cosmic, exotic, rough and often worn and elegiac.
Are interspersed between, quite rocky, better post-rock sections (listen for example "Moles"), but the most
degenerate quickly become independent and make more informal freiformatig sound constructs space.
"Graves And Orchestra pits" offers impressive and very colorful sound adventure, clay sculptures and sound
tissues on post-rock base, where intricate compositions are the focus, but sound, atmosphere, space, sound,
Hall, the creative use of sound, sometimes noise, sometimes hardly mutually acceptable fantasies and all sorts of
nuances in between.
But the album remains always clearly audible. Of course, this calls for concentration and melodic musical openmindedness, but rough, desolate or really noisy, it is rare. Rather arise very atmospheric, sometimes barren, all in
all very varied and dense electro-acoustic sound spaces, somewhere in the intersection of Japanese noise
digressions, herbaceous electronic experiments and minimalist post rock, which I would like to explore just any
friend really progressive sound creations recommend.
Aquarius Records
Surprising Utech release here, not (quite) so droney as they often are, but rather more rhythmic, and in fact
downright prog-rocky. Graves And Orchestra Pits are a transcontinental two-piece, one guy (based in Stuttgart,
Germany) on guitars, synths, and much else besides; the other guy (from Tokyo, Japan) on drums and
electronics... Not sure how they got together, but they make a fine team, stirring up a lot of noise in a quirky,
confusional, chamber-prog context. The beats are big and effected, going whap whap whap, amidst all sorts of
interesting textures, some of this quite lovely really. Droned out blissful bits coexist with electronic glitch, gentle
strings wrap 'round crashing cymbals, snatches of electronica intersect improv skitter... each track adding
something new to the sonic stew. A compelling listen, these eight unique, instrumental mini-epics of full of
fractured melody, odd noises, and disturbing drumming. The duo format, and Japanese drummer, and overall
kinetic energy, makes us think of the Ruins, but this, with its "Orchestra Pits" moniker, has an additional, avantgarde classical music gone wrong atmosphere to it, field recordings and found sounds juxtaposed with piano and
glockenspiel... Plus, guests contribute violin, viola, vibes, flute, sax, etc. on a few of the tracks. So it's not exactly
a stripped down sound, this is dense and chaotic and complex, though calm and sparse some of the time too, to
catch you unawares.
NORMAN RECORDS (UK) : (8/10 points)
One of my favourite things about this CD is the fact that the 'Pits have decided not to indulge us with any type of
track listing or any other type of information on its rittle sleeve. Ace. That means that I can read what I like into it
and not feel like I'm taking liberties, or libertahs if you will. This record is 8 tunes which interlock and start whence
the others finish. The lines of reality are not so much blurred as scrubbed away completely as this group of
musical mercenaries flit deftly from one (de)composition to another with only a flap of zombie skin to keep
themselves warm. I'm not too sure what that means. The 'Pits have a very good sound though, kind of minimalist
one second, then moving towards louder waters the next. They remind me of Goblin, but without the synchs and
tight leather trousers. I guess there are synch type moments to be heard on this record but they are roundly
trounced by big crushing gee-tar riffs and pounding drums. This record sounds great and I really liked its lavish
production, it has warmth and enough sufficiently heavy moments to keep any metal/experimental music fan
more than happy!
Don't Count On It Reviews / Deep Sea Views: (8/10points)
I first became interested in this record, or project really, when I first heard some samples from the Utech records
site. Sure, this, along with a few other releases, was certainly not metal or rock, but this one stood out, to me
anyway, among the other drone sounding releases. This release really got me interested in Utech, along with
Locrian, but only recently did I purchase it.
The quintet that performs on here definitely delivers something pretty out-there, think John Zorn, but a bit more
focused and less rooted in jazz. There are various instruments that litter the album from electronic samples to
vibraphones and thumb pianos. I love how in records like this, a composition really takes precedence over a
single person's performance, though the guitar playing on Moles certainly has to be mentioned, simply because it
is fantastic. That Zorn-esque nature for noise and pushing the music into weirder territories does come up now
and again on here, which works at times while not working in others, but that's really a given.
Like I said above, this is by no means rooted in jazz, though there are certainly more than a few instances where
those sort of arrangements come through on here. The lush textures of instrumentation and nice and big
sounding production really make this a treat to listen to, with so much going on in a single instant that it could be
a bit difficult to really take in what's happening on a first listen. Besides the jazz sounds, I think the classical and
ambient influences also come through quite clearly, but post-rock, doom metal, and electronica can also be heard
on here as well, hear Knochenanker/Mouth of Light. I do have to say that while none of these tracks are bad,
there are certainly a few tracks that have that avant-garde sort of vibe to them, which to me I could never get into,
it always seemed like an exploration of sound more than anything was being done to create something,
Permafrost Vow, which I'm sure other people probably like more than I do.
Did I enjoy this album, yes, but do I think it's a great album, not really. There are still some moments on here
which don't really do it for me, a bit too exploratory for me, personally, but it's certainly a record that I'll return to. I
recommend this to people that are into more avant-garde composition, or even to people that liked that Mamiffer
record I reviewed earlier this year.
Kulturterrorismus.de
German(original)/
Wer schlüssige Publikationen favorisiert, könnte das Debüt von Graves And Orchestra Pits wie von einem
anderen Stern empfinden, das sich eigentlich nicht Worte fassen lässt...
English(Google translated)/
Who favored conclusive publications, could feel the debut of Graves And Orchestra pits as from another planet,
the fact can not be put words …