ya’ll, Shigeto’s newest album Lineage  is fantastic.  i know that’s an abrupt way to start a post, but it’s true.  it’s only been out for roughly three weeks, but it is already the album to beat of 2012 in my mind.  instead of proving himself a one hit wonder or tapering off to something less creative and more bland, Shigeto has proven he can do more with less in his latest efforts.  this song, Ann Arbor Parts 3 & 4, is the perfect example.  whereas 2010’s Full Circle was full of murmuring synths and soft samples driven by rigid, yet creative drums, Lineage is a soft, personal album where his loose jazz drumming, bubbling prepared piano, and gentle ‘organic’ effects leads to a gentler, more personal album.  Ann Arbor Parts 3 & 4 gives us a head nodding beat that is both easy on the ears and mentally stimulating without intruding.  Shigeto’s excellent drumwork is also front and center this time around, and the album feels more like jazz with a hint of electronic music, as opposed to Full Circle’s electronic with a hint of jazz, while still managing to avoid becoming muzak.  it’s truly refreshing, and makes me wish i could go back in time and show 90’s trip-hop what they were probably aiming for and missed.

dedicated to his japanese ancestry and his family, Lineage is the album that shows he can give us soft music for lovers and friends as well as hypnotic thumpers and grooving beats.  this is one of the 2012’s abums to hear, and i greatly recommend everyone give it a listen.

this is the kind of music i want playing as i go about the day to day minutiae of operating my ship— not because it’s boring or anything, but because it makes me happy to be alive and in space.

Shigeto—Ann Arbor Parts 3 & 4—Lineage