After being away from the music world for a couple of years and returning earlier this year with a new music project, FEM, Mayuko Hitotsuyanagi, better known by her stage name Cuushe, also returns with her solo project. On 20 November, she will release a long-awaited album, WAKEN, and after sharing a super short teaser, many people were excited to see the singer-songwriter return.
According to Tokyo-based record label FLAU, you can expect from WAKEN “a collection of vital, dancefloor-ready beats and analogue soundscapes woven with her newly freed voice” and after the first track of this upcoming album, which also became a single, Hold Half, Cuushe released another one last week, Magic. To give the song extra power, the musician also released a music video for the song.
Cuushe doesn’t get separated from the dreamy aspect that is present in her other releases, that was already noticeable in Hold Half. That’s not bad at all, because this is something that is part of the singer-songwriter. Still, there is something different about Cuushe’s music. It still feels warm, but it’s not as airy as before. It seems to have a bit more grounding, which might have something to do with the instruments and beats used in the music. But it can also be due to the experiences of Cuushe, which she has incorporated in her music, so that there is more emotion in it. It is promising for the rest of the album.
Cuushe’s music always makes you travel with the singer-songwriter to fleeting airy places. This also has been incorporated in the music video for Magic, the animation of which was done by Yoko Kuno. It is a mixed-media music video using real images and animation. These animations are so perfectly placed in the realistic images, so it seems that they really are part of the original world. It is magic!
Pre-order the LP or CD on the Bandcamp of FLAU. (not an affiliate link)
