Phantom Limb Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Kiki Hitomi and Shigeru Ishihara first developed WaqWaq Kingdom as a psychedelic affair with percussionist Andrea Belfi, but with 2019 album Essaka Hoisa they ploughed on alone and created a distinctive, maximalist sound drawing on their respective strengths. Hitomi is a captivating story-teller who can tease a whole cast of characters from her vocal delivery, and Ishihara has a hyperactive approach to production which can render footwork, breakcore, hyper pop, traditional Japanese folk music, hip-hop and much more as bit parts in his vivid tapestries. Drawing on their heritage and making the most out-there modernist music intensely personal in the same beat, Essaka Hoisa sounds like nothing else you've ever heard, and should serve as a perfect primer for a new album from WaqWaq Kingdom in September 2023.