Press

Michiko Ogawa about the Magic of Sound

"A visit to an anechoic chamber instilled in Michiko Ogawa a realisation about the nature of reality: 'Every sound, however incidental, carries life with it.' In her work, that realisation turns into 20-minute long rituals — impressionist dronescapes inspired by a deep love for small, subtle sounds."

"Pancake Moon arrives with the quiet confidence of something that knows it doesn't need to raise its voice. Michiko Ogawa, working between Berlin and California, makes music that behaves like breath and weather rather than statement. This is her second solo album, and it feels less like a sequel than a widening of the same circle, drawn more slowly, with steadier hands."

'Beyond Meshes': A Conversation with Michiko Ogawa

"Pancake Moon is very vivid music that allows us to float in metaphysical spaces where everyday life does not exist. Michiko Ogawa's sounds vibrate beautifully and put us in a pleasant state of oblivion, cutting us off from unnecessary noise. It is a wonderful journey of the spirit and soul, where we can look down while sitting on the soft and delicate Moon of imagination."

"The setup creates starbursts of harmonic activity, with the sweet, multi-layered tone and rich reverberance of the cello rolling forward with lush swells, electric dissonance, and meditative elegance. After the basic shō-cello performance was recorded the musicians noticed some unexpected, recurring acoustic phenomena, which gave the piece its name. The organ overdubs only heighten the harmonic action, while fleshing out the sound field with extra layers of resonance. Beneath the hypnotic drone there is steady intervallic movement, so untangling the three lines offers a new perspective."

"The organ blends with the two other instruments in an insidious way, its mellow tone complementing the thin reeds of the shō and the variability of the cello, yet weaving in and out of the duet as never quite foreground, nor background. Each voice reinforces the others while always maintaining its own distinct character, with the relationship between them made more complex by the small incompatabilities in pitch, the shō's Pythagorean tuning at odds with the organ's modern equal temperament."

Cambridge University Press

The Capsule Garden Vol. 2.9

"Solo February 2023 unfolds with a slow, considered purpose. Notes stretch a few extra heartbeats, rising and falling with elegance and restraint, climbing toward an unseen vantage point. This music is weightless. A muted sense of whimsy percolates into the piece through synth accompaniment, allowing an airiness to filter between the flowing layers. It's a wonderful excursion through soft-edged waves."

The Best Contemporary Classical of 2022

"One can detect an almost emotional character to the beautiful shifts, which glide from dark turbulence to sunny ecstasy, but the real action happens within the ensemble output, where endless beating patterns and lush harmonies well up and release in altering combinations."

"Harmonies begin on a bed of sonorous bass. Amass and ebb their sustained soundings cooperatively. Quickly finding quavering beating. Criss-crossing movements and waves' tremulousness summon tension. Suspension amongst them as they all alternately buoy the harmony. Gutturally deep oms and singing celestial. Cyclical in revolving dynamics, seemingly iterative structures, and shifting harmonic constellations. Combinations for moments of euphonious elation and consonant frisson."

"Despite being inspired by the aural ambience of city living, this music brings to mind human-free vistas. As its long tones coalesce and diverge, overtones ripple like a canopy of leafy foliage seen from above as it bends and shakes under the influence of gusting breezes. Just as one might look for patterns in the leaves, Junkan (2020) invites the listener to find whatever order or disorder they seek in the crosshatching and convergence of slowly bowed strings and patiently blown woodwinds."