Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Yuka & Chronoship: Ship

89

Yuka & Chronoship: Ship

By

Sign in to view read count
Yuka & Chronoship: Ship
This irrefutably impressive Japanese progressive rock outfit is led by talented female keyboardist Yuka Funakoshi. The the first seven tracks are based on the Greek mythology Argo, named after the ship Jason and the Argonauts used to retrieve the Golden Fleece. And of course, mythological topics along with intergalactic space travel are relatively common threads for progressive rock bands, largely due to the late 1960s emergence and integration of Moog and Arp synthesizers into rock idioms.

Vocalist Sonja Kristina of the legendary prog rock ensemble, Curved Air, kicks things off atop Funakoshi's gentle piano phrasings and the sound of creaky wooden vessels on the brief opening track, "Argo—Tears of the Figurehead." But for the remainder of the album, the keyboardist handles the voice-as-instrument duties along with vocalist Hiroyuki Izuta.

The seven Argo-themed tracks include guitarist Takashi Miyazawa's penetrating crunch chords, and reverberating leads amid Funakoshi's multi-functional treatments, including dramatic buildups, harp and harpsichord samples, poetic piano clusters and lyrical synth lines. Hence, each piece is composed with a harmonious theme, regardless of momentum, as these works remain fresh and enlivening throughout. And there's not a hint of filler material to be found.

On "Argo—A Dragon That Never Sleeps," they execute an up-tempo jazz rocker via the guitarist's fancy fretwork and complex unison lines with Funakoshi's climactic crescendos and soaring extended synth notes. Blissful mellotron interludes, whirling unison runs and traces of classic era Genesis surface on "Visible Light," where Miyazawa seemingly emulates Steve Hackett's streaming sustain notes while Funakoshi's fluid synth phrasings spin the quartet into a feverish 4/4 groove towards the finale. The musicians finalize the invigorating set with a lighthearted, melodic and joyful little ditty, "Did You Find a Star?"

The band formed in 2009, and is perhaps not well-known on these US shores, but all serious prog rock devotees should not let this wonderful outing slip by. Ship is a near flawless musical event, devised with top-shelf compositional prowess and superb musicianship. Indeed, it's a luminous musical statement that helps raise the bar for modern era progressive rock.

Track Listing

Argo – Tears of the Figurehead; Argo – The Ship Argos; Argo – Landing; Argo – Golden Fleece; Argo– A Dargon That Never Sleeps; Argo – Islands in the Stream; Argo – Return; The Air Ship of Jean Giraud; Visible Light; Old Ship on the Grass; Did You Fina a Star?.

Personnel

Yuka Funakoshi: vocals, keyboards, piano; Takashi Miyazawa: guitar; Shun Taguchi: bass, backing vocals; Ikko Tanaka: drums. With Hiroyuki Izuta: vocals; Sonja Kristina: vocals (1).

Album information

Title: Ship | Year Released: 2018 | Record Label: Cherry Red Records

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Fiesta at Caroga
Afro-Caribbean Jazz Collective
Fellowship
David Gibson
Immense Blue
Olie Brice / Rachel Musson / Mark Sanders

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.