Japanese drone/ambient maestro Hakobune (Takahiro Yorifuji) knows a thing or two about conjuring the right mood. Yorifuji’s long-running project never rushes the vibe, opting for lengthy, textured pieces of guitar and a briefcase full of effects pedals (I can only assume). The ideal listening scenario can range from staring out among a vast, empty landscape, to late-night bouts of solitude. Hakobune can be as big or as intimate as you want it to be, and it’s captured beautifully on every release, and there are many.
The most recent release from Hakobune, Parhelion, released via Constellation Tatsu, doesn’t stray far from the tried and true formula, but hit play and you’ll quickly find yourself immersed in Yorifuji’s sonic terrain. Parhelion unfolds over 40-plus minutes across two sides of this tape, and it’s every bit as compelling as anything Hakobune has put out. There’s something to be said for a deeply consistent, wide-ranging catalog, and as long as Hakobune keeps chugging along with quarterly nuggets of drone goodness, I’ll be hailing a ride.
Stream Parhelion below, and pick it up on digital and/or cassette, along with the rest of C-Tatsu’s Winter Batch, featuring new zones from memorygarden禅, Celer + Forest Management, and Rose.