9) Lineage - Shigeto (TOP 20 OF 2012)

Lineage

Shigeto

Ghostly International.

Original SCQ Review.

While Shigeto rivals some of Ghostly International’s lead exports in terms of sheer output, the moniker for Zach Saginaw has yet to achieve as much recognition. Released in the bleak beginnings of January, Lineage looked to upgrade that reputation with a sterling mix of nu-jazz rhythms, R&B harmonies and euphoric beat-splicing. Nearly twelve months on, Shigeto remains something of an underappreciated workhorse for the label.

But, true to form, Lineage proved that little train that could in the life-cycle of Skeleton Crew Quarterly, surviving periods of neglect over the course of the year only to bounce back more resilient and purposeful than ever. At first a smooth selection of grooves to watch snowfall from one’s balcony, tracks like “Soaring” and “Huron River Drive” ushered in the jazzy, brain-candy brilliance of triptychs “A Child’s Mind” and “Field Trip”. As long as Saginaw can continue usurping expectations a few thousand people at a time, Shigeto’s on his way to building a formidable catalog.

Lineage - Shigeto

Lineage

Shigeto

Ghostly International.

SCQ Rating: 82%

Ghostly International has nurtured a surprisingly prolific relationship with Zach Saginaw since signing him in early 2010. With a smattering of digital-only EPs and one full-length under their belt, this partnership has resulted in a bevy of original Shigeto compositions inspired by Saginaw’s family history and nearly as much material remixed by or for the label’s formidable roster. Back when Shigeto’s white-hot inspiration was but a spark (with his Semi-Circle EP), Saginaw included a remix of Mux Mool’s ‘Morning Strut’ entitled “Shigeto’s Wakenbake Edit”; little did we know how much Saginaw’s style would come to compliment the chilled-out notion of a stoned morning on one’s own.

You see Lineage doesn’t extract this carefree attitude strictly on the merits of its shuffling, retro-fresh jazz leanings. Much of what distinguishes Shigeto’s latest mini-album lies in technique, probably the last thing his previous work showed any lacking in. But whereas Full Circle and What We Held On To EP sometimes favored the kitchen-sink approach of constantly revitalizing a composition with new ideas, Lineage’s technique is focused and ultimately matured. The meditative air permeating ‘Ann Arbor Part 3 & 4’ allows its electronic keys and shuffling beat to bend without transforming altogether which, like the soul-infused Boards Of Canada drone of ‘Please Stay’, feels entirely subdued next to Shigeto’s typical chaos.

Besides laying down head-nod approved beats with sustained melodies, Lineage thrives on an organic palette of resonating electric piano, warm organ and, most importantly, a percussive sensibility that bridges hip hop to jazz. From the freeform workout alone that ushers in the psychedelic flourishes and spastic beats of ‘A Child’s Mind’, it’s clear that Shigeto has struck a particularly lush groove this go around. Is this another teasingly short entry in Zach Saginaw’s speedy evolution? Sure. But unlike past enticements that exhausted as often as they thrilled, Lineage proves instantly re-spinnable; the sort of album that seeps into the sludgy atmosphere of a February morning and enlightens everything.

A Child's Mind

Full Circle - Shigeto

Full Circle

Shigeto
Ghostly International.

SCQ Rating: 76%

No other artist has greased Ghostly International’s blog-approved promotional gears quite as much as Shigeto, and the reasons for that are numerous. For one, the artist otherwise known as Zach Saginaw has released three records this year (alongside this full-length, the Semi Circle EP and What We Held On To EP), but it’s clear Ghostly’s enthusiasm for Shigeto goes far beyond the man’s prolific nature. Over two EPs that showcased an oft-experimental fusion of varied styles bound by a singular vision, Ghostly has positioned Shigeto to join acts like Mux Mool and Gold Panda as the imprint’s new graduating class.

It’s impressive company to find oneself in, no doubt, backed by arguably the best electronic label currently running. Yet until Full Circle, Shigeto’s praise seemed huddled toward his technical skill and not whether it could adequately create something greater than a disjointed flow of ideas. Full Circle puts those fears to rest, building upon What We Held On To EP’s embrace of grooves to christen Saginaw’s unique style amid an instrumental hip-hop framework. Alas, pinning this LP with an instrumental hip-hop tag likens to an insult, when tracks like ‘So So Lovely’ and ‘Sky Of the Revolution’ utilize those stuttering beats as a foundation for all of Shigeto’s detailed counter-rhythms. Synth bubbles orbit the scaffolding of ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ and micro-house beats propel ‘Look At All the Smiling Faces’, niceties that somewhat disguise the straightforward digestibility of the set.

A love of jazz also figures prominently into Full Circle, casually loitering the looser confines of these songs and, in the case of ‘Children At Midnight’, taking center-stage with a relaxed jazz-piano sample. Really though, to continue deciphering all of Shigeto’s influences would transform this humble review into a critical essay when, all that aside, Full Circle’s ultimate focus remains groove-oriented. Call it a streamlined take on his more conceptual EPs if you must, but I’d rather hear Shigeto fully explore the possibilities of three ideas in a song as opposed to scratching the surface of twenty. Suddenly all of the hype launched for Shigeto makes sense; he has come "full circle" over the course of 2010, from theoretical taunts to concrete beats, and Ghostly knows this is just the beginning.

Semi Circle EP - Shigeto

Semi Circle EP

Shigeto
Ghostly International/Moodgadget.

SCQ Rating: 76%

Recently I had the pleasure of sitting in on a poetry workshop that, for a few hours, discussed how a single line-break or preference of punctuation can shape and distort how a poem is read. Poetry’s lawless world of syntax, where anything can transcend if it’s positioned just right, trades contrived for exciting with seemingly minute details, and electronica thrives by the same gray boundaries. Shigeto, moniker for Zach Saginaw, seems to be well-versed in bending genre rules on Semi Circle EP, his gauntlet of a debut for Ghostly International.

Loaded with a heavy back-story – that of Saginaw’s grandmother, who was imprisoned in an American internment camp for citizens with Japanese roots – Semi Circle only seems burdened on opening segue ‘Beginnings’. Over the subsequent sixteen minutes, Shigeto’s wall-to-wall techniques nearly disguise his historical crate-digging. Hip-hop beats are consistently manipulated, at times combined with heavy Toro Y Moi-styled fades (as on ‘There Is Always Hope’), or supplying the urban grit under ‘Eternal Life’’s cascading piano-work. ‘Bakers Blunt Basics’ is the electronic adaptation of that unreliable faucet in your house that rises and drops in pressure, all unpredictable swings in pitch and tempo, while the romantic keys of ‘Embrace the Cold’ progressively go tone-deaf, morphing into an IDM-inspired icicle-march even Pantha du Prince should marvel at. However these instrumental tracks are connected to the regrettable era that imprisoned Saginaw’s grandmother, Semi Circle makes for an adventurous quarter-hour as well as an inspired tribute. And if you’re feeling raw about how short it is, no worries; this EP is just a precursor to Full Circle, Shigeto’s full-length due out on Ghostly later this year.