EL FOG - REBUILDING VIBES (Flau)

It is always a breath of fresh air to find musicians willing to experiment with the vibraphones, a much-underused instrument outside of the realm of jazz. So I welcome the efforts of Berlin-based Japanese artist Fujita Masayoshi who, under the stage name El Fog, exhibits a willingness to take the vibraphones’ unique sound in new directions. “Rebuilding Vibes,” produced by Flau, is an interesting work that explores the versatility of its sound. The album’s 12 tracks make use of disparate musical influences—from jazz to ambient and experimental—in an attempt to create interesting and cerebral soundscapes.  

True to the album’s title, Fujita seeks to rebuild conceptions of how the vibraphones can be used in experimental music. He makes use of the vibraphones’ sound in new and unique ways, both to forge interesting backgrounds and, every so often, to solo above them. The soundscapes he creates are always intriguing and mellow, and at times are quite pretty. As such, Fujita succeeds in showing the depth of this oft-underused instrument. And every now and again, in songs like “Waterfall,” “Flip and Dub,” and “Patterns,” Fujita does a vibraphone run that teases the listener with his potential.    

Yet the vibes’ interesting soundscapes are contrasted with percussion and drum programming that feel both under-marinated and undercooked. The album’s introductory track, “Broken,” begins with a haphazardly programmed percussion of clicks and glitchy sounds, and then morphs into samples of hand clapping. Yet this percussion does not blend well, and pulls the listener’s attention away from the interesting background. This, in fact, happens on many tracks. The audio samples in “Flip and Dub” are no less cacophonous, conjuring images of a machine producing widgets in an inefficient manner. The drum programming, in short, is perhaps too highbrow and modern for me.  

“Rebuilding Vibes,” in short, is intellectual music. I appreciate Fujita’s willingness to produce such exploratory and cerebral music, and applaud him for defying traditional conventions. But while he is successful in using the vibraphones to create ambient and interesting soundscapes, he does not follow through with other elements to create truly memorable tracks. Moreover, Fujita’s music shines when he moves closer to the realm of jazz (with tracks like “Waterfall”), making this reviewer wish that he chose to foreground these jazz influences to a greater degree. But these moments remain few and far between. Jazz influences remain relegated to the background. In the end, I want to like “Rebuilding Vibes” more than I actually do. Whatever the case, the album deserves a good listen, and no doubt enthusiasts of intellectual experimental music will find much to take away from this album.

Jeremy Yellen