With a nom d’artiste like Kumon Plaza, and track titles like "Kiwi Island", "Final Boss", and "Saria’s Song", the Edmonton-based musician makes no bones about his allegiance to the 8-bit movement (though Kumon Plaza kicks it more 64-bit style). For Generation Z, the happy chime of rupees and Power-Ups has become as much a part of the sonic landscape as the screaming howl of Hendrix’s guitar was for the baby-boomers. Popular electronic music began in earnest in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, when video games were still in their infancy. Yet, as sources for ready-made samples, it was hard to rely on Pac Man or Paperboy for anything more than an off-the-cuff sound-gag.
But what a difference a few decades make. ‘Real’ composers now write the soundtracks for the major video game releases, and artists like Anamanaguchi, XXX, and Coyote Clean Up have re-appropriated the updated bloops-and-beeps back into the realm of popular music. More significantly, they’ve done it without the irony that can sometimes burden this sort of sampling. The challenge is to let the intrinsic caffeinated glee of the 8-bit sound express itself without giving in to the sugar rush. Case in point: You, You’re Awesome’s (QRO album review) "How to Get the Most Out of Your Instructional Video", a chipper track based on half-joke that grows old fast. Kumon Plaza’s Cliff superbly handles the balance between measured gaiety and real depth of feeling.
The heart of the original release smacks strongly of Richard D. James-era Aphex Twin. Electronic melodies bounce cleanly in long drawn lines over impeccably manicured drum machines in "Hans Kruger". No dissonance, no conflict, no stormy weather disturbs the vision of tranquility and peace. The song is a hair’s breadth away from New Age shibboleth, but once again the 8-bit Brechtian stare of the composition reminds us of the ultimate artificiality of its construction and rescues the song from a rainbow-n-sunsets complacency. When Kumon Plaza does ratchet up the tension, as in track "Kiwi Island", the song still stays under control. Ultimately there’s a limit to what emotional territory can be covered within the strictures of ready-made samples harvested from video games, but that’s commentary on the future of the genre, not the album. Kumon Plaza’s Cliff is a wonder within the boundaries he’s created for himself. A forward-looking track like "Meet Me At Westmount", which relies a breathy sample from outside the video game universe to tease out some psychological depth, could be a good sign of future growth.
Additional bonuses on the re-release include remixes from the likes of Gobble Gobble, Kiss Kiss Fantastic, Coolrunnings and more. Kumon Plaza’s spare and uncluttered approach to composition makes his material a prime candidate for remixing. The female vocals by Jessica Jalbert on the "Hans Kruger" transform the track into a sort of 2045 White Hinterland (QRO album review) – the collaboration is so beautiful you wish Kumon Plaza would bring vocalists into the studio more often. Maybe next time…
MP3 Stream: "Hans Kruger"
