Ynoji - Nina

Ynoji are a collective of sorts, two main members are augmented by three other contributors with this 31 minute dervish being the latest offering. It would appear, at least to me, that Ynoji are split into two camps: there's the free ranging ambient side with looser forms of rhythm and meter and then there's the minimal borderline electro faction who do some very thorough insertion into one's head. It is this tension which makes their EP the must-have release that I have heard so far from the Xtraplex camp. If this line up do nothing else, 'Nina' will firmly cement their place in the vast almost incomprehensible pantheon of IDM. Believe me, this bunch do not belong to anyone's ideals except their own, they move far beyond the safe and comfortable canvas of "experimental art." If this is enough to entice you, bravo. If not, you should just quit reading and strap on your goggles. This isn't for you.

What I'm drawn to again and again are the many sounds of the natural world I find these people sneaking into their songs after severely maiming them. Is it a voice I hear or the contused cry of a Sparrow, the atmospheres rising like steam from a boiling kettle. Again, I must wonder, how long will this bunch endure before transmuting themselves into something even stranger. The usage of space as an instrument, why yes, of course, silence is sexy indeed. If Blixa and his bunch of miscreants decided to go for it, really go for it, 'Nina' is the sort of album I suspect they'd make. This, of course, would require Bargeld to remove his voice and an instrumental Neubauten I don't think at this point could last very long. That's another notation I must make about Ynoji: they truly sound fleeting. I play 'Nina' over and over, it always ends so abruptly. Falling down the sheer face of a shale cliff, you'll find nothing to hold on to, the smooth composition gives no respite. Each and every detailed placement of sound is a calculation unto itself.

Their application of immense pads is like the sky opening up at night to show you it's range, the clouds burn away and we're standing in a barren field while the absence of light only grows more and more looming. Does one stand against a place such as this or do they become one with it. You're never sure of what you will encounter next, so much of what Ynoji do is from an instinctual angle rather than any discernable methodology. They like it obscured and ominous, if only more of what I have heard out there could be as versatile. Perhaps their machines are more than just equipment -Coil often referred to ElpH as a member- which allow for mathematical deviance; it is quite possible that Ynoji have broken through the barrier of the user inputting data into their device and have achieved a truly symbiotic balance. Only time will tell and until they grace us again with their veritable miasma of sight and sound, I'll continue listening to 'Nina'.

A most compellingly reassuring yet oddly prescient connection of synaptic parallels. Feb 23 2012