Aihara, Ken: Circumstellar (EP)

One of the things I love about the Fusion genre is the comradery, these artists support each other by guesting on albums, joining up for tours, they have a shared interest in seeing like-minded artists get their music to the masses. Circumstellar is a 5-song EP that was just released at the end of 2023, and is full on high energy fusion. Aihara is wearing a variety of hats as the keyboardist/Composer/Producer and Sound Designer for this album, but he does all the jobs quite well. As for the guests, well, he’s got some good ones. On the opening “Cosmic Boost� you get an amazing guitar solo from Andre Nieri, an amazing opening track. As you would expect, the album is heavy on keyboards, but you definitely get a band feel.

“Carbon Planet� gives you another heavy dose of keyboard layering and lead work. Snarky Puppy alum Bob Lanzetti provides the silky guitar lines here, “Mechanical Owl� is where I feel Aihara really stretches out using a heavy foundation, some excellent solo spots, and varying dynamics throughout the track. There truly is no letup, as “Orbit� maintains the energy level, and the musical punch you’d expect after hearing the first three tracks. The drum chair is shared by Virgil Donati, Anika Niles, and Jonathan Lundberg. The closing track “Flock of Pteranodon� is heavy and rocking, but then again, so is the entire disc. Andre Nieri again shows his massive guitar prowess, this guy is just amazing, I want to hear more from him. I need to check out Aihara’s 2019 release “Multiverse� after hearing him for the first time listening to “Circumstellar�. I am going to explore all the great new music being released. As much as we love the classics, we need to support these great new artists.

The adage of 'leave them wanting more' surely applies to this release, you only get around 27 minutes of some intense driving fusion, and yes, I loved what I heard, and I definitely want to hear more from Aihar and his mates.

Track List:
1. Cosmic Boost
2. Carbon Planet
3. Mechanical Owl
4. Orbit
5. Flock of Pteranodon

Added: January 6th 2024
Reviewer: Eric Porter
Score:
Related Link: Artists @ Bandcamp
Hits: 142
Language: english

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