Driving a highly hypnotic personal experience, ‘Ancient Seeds’ grows on you unexpectedly. Packed with a wealth of traditional songs from all around the globe, the album benefits from a highly cathartic and meditative allure, a mixture of World music and Folk goodness delivered by Aco Takenaka’s transformative vocals. Hailing from Japan, the Tokyo-based singer-songwriter has collected a number of ancient pieces from Tibet, India, Africa, North America, and her home country, aiming to preserve an almost-forgotten catalogue of local folklore compositions.
To do so, Takenaka teams up with composer Toshiyuki O’mori, helping the record reach its aural zenith. The results are highly dreamy and hazy, with Ayo’s nuanced and soothing vocals taking us on an unexpected round trip around the globe thanks to layered chants and feverish harmonies. A team of like-minded musicians helps the Japanese songstress complete her unique endeavour, the likes of sho player Ko Ishikawa, Hiroki Okano on the Native American flute, Masashi Yamaguchi on the jinlei, producer Joss Jaffe, and percussionist Tamao Fuji.
Delving deeper into the album, Aco Takenaka explains: “It’s an album of ancient songs, chants, and mantras from around the world, rearranged so that we, living in the present, can resonate with them more naturally and deeply within the soundscape of our time. Just like seeds found in ancient ruins sprout when given soil and water, these songs also awaken when sung by human voices.”
Recommended! Discover ‘Ancient Seeds’ on Spotify: