Magical Power Mako - Sumatra Tsunami Support-Niji No Sato Charity Concert (p-Chan)
Though he’s best known for his psychedelic work, Magical Power Mako has always been a more diverse musician, as evidenced by the collection Low Pop Diamonds, which found him working far outside of the realms with which he’s most often associated. This disc, however, is still a bit of a surprise. A live recording from the Niji No Sato tsunami relief concert, which Mr. Mako organized, the album consists almost entirely of sampling and electronic work, far too much of which exhibits a syth demo or cartoonish vibe. There are lots of cheesy rhythms and cartoonish smash-ups, and very little of the pleasant pop or darker atmospherics that provide the disc’s best moments. There are times that it’s hard to believe the synthesizer isn’t simply playing in demo mode, and far too much use of bad instrument modeling. When the guitar does surface, it’s in an overwrought solo layered beneath more of the same limp synth work.
I’m not certain where Magical Power Mako was aiming with this work. It’s not entirely without more agreeable moments, but these seem to fall prey to Mako’s more scattered, wandering sections, while sub-Axel F. cheese-craft is allowed to go on ad infinitum. The structural style of the pieces aren’t isn’t disastrous, perhaps with better selection of sound sources and tones things could have turned out better, but far too much of this disc relies on tired techno beats and third-rate syth voices for it to be a very rewarding listen. Anyone complaining that Magical Power Mako’s been rather quiet on the release-front lately, especially stateside, may want to reconsider their criticism, as it seems pretty apparent that the best is, in fact, definitely not to come.
