US electronic duo Visible Cloaks teams up with the Japanese duo dip in the pool on this double A-side single, Valve/Valve (Revisited), out now RVNG. Visible Cloaks came to light several years back with their transcendent, two-volume collection Fairlights, Mallets and Bamboo, which we highly recommend checking out via the pair’s Soundcloud page. Described as “investigations into Fourth World undercurrents in Japanese ambient and pop music, years 1980 – 1986”, this newest effort finds the Cloaks continuing their fascination with Japan’s musical culture via this exquisite collaboration with that island’s legendary duo, dip in the pool. “Valve” features vocals from dip in the pool’s Miyako Koda, translating the spoken word from her “A Sea of Love” track–found on the musician’s 1998 solo LP Jupiter (Grandisc)–“into a MIDI chordal movement permeated by disparate tones, colors, and textures”. “Valve (Revisited)” finds Koda adding new vocals while partner Tatsuji Kim provides melodies, with co-production from Visible Cloaks.
Portland artist Brenna Murphy created the visuals here and her 3-dimensional universe of latticed geometry is the perfect accompaniment to this mysterious sonic world. Like M. C. Escher on a serious dose of acid, she twists her Day-Glo labyrinths into eye-popping shapes and colors that drift and morph to this track’s urbane tones. You can also explore the virtual world of Valve in a desktop app built by Brenna Murphy right here.
