Taking its name from the French for metamorphosis or moulting, 'Mue' by Paris-based, Fukuoka-born pianist and composer Koki Nakano feels transformational. Compared to 'Port de Bras', the previous single released for his upcoming album Oceanic Feeling, 'Mue' is much more intimate, less expansive. Nakano's piano playing is light but intense, spelling out a heavy, fluttering ostinato — like a dramatic version of the daytime riding theme from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
The track canters along until its final third, when a skirl of electronics needles in from the side, flailing fiercely atop the piano as if the air itself had been set alight. The composer certainly has a knack for combining his classical background with experimental elements to create chimeric sounds like this one, an effortless overlay of synthetic on organic.
- 🔔 'Mue' is taken from Oceanic Feeling, out 13th May via No Format! You can pre-order it on Koki Nakano's Bandcamp.
- 🔔 There's also a video for 'Mue'. Filmed at the Paris Hôtel de Ville, it features the combined expertise of choreographers, Nicolas Huchard, Nick Coutsier, and Christian Yav.
