"Sick of hearing the same tired riffs and canned beats on the radio? Canadian trio Loud shakes off the doldrums of post-'90s pop by fusing electric guitar dynamics to thunderous taiko rhythms, with an occasional flute or accordion thrown in to keep listeners on their toes....Describing their method of composition through improvisation, [Komori] says, It's not like there's a formal style we're trying to emulate. We don't really go in with a preformed sense of the sound we want. Somebody throws a rhythm or a riff out, and we start to play around it' "

by Rob Chin
for the rest of the review, go to -The Advocate

 

" If you find yourself awake at 5:30am on a Saturday morning, sipping hot chocolate and watching the world wake up through your window, this is the CD that should be playing in your apartment. The music on LOUD's "Taikoelectric" is the soundtrack to the world breathing and the soul stirring. It's primitive, spiritual, and fascinating."

by Jennifer Layton
for the rest of the review, go to- Indie-Music.com

 

"This is music that I could have never imagined creating and feel almost enlightened by it. This is definitely one of those albums that you must check out. I think that most will be pleasantly pleased. Especially those who enjoy music from the trance or ambient genres. Just don't look for any electronica effects here. This is pure acoustic and electric rhythm and groove."

by Michael Allison - THEGLOBALMUSE.COM

 

"Taikoelectric is an assured debut that shows these women have close to limitless potential"

by Michael Barclay - EYE MAGAZINE Toronto

 

"The cover of "taikoelectric" boasts a multi-coloured, fluid-looking graphic which reflects the flowing, intricate sound of the album. The titles of the tracks draw on pop culture references, both North American and Japanese. The most eye-catching is "Loudzilla". The innovative group transformed the destructive Japanese monster Godzilla into a great personal tune... "Carpal Tunnel Syndrome" is a sign of our fast-paced, computer using times. In contrast, "Pebbles and Boulders" evokes images of a Japanese garden. Each track is richly layered, with skillful juxtapositions of instruments from, for a lack of better terminology, the Western and Eastern Traditions."

by Doretta Lau - RICEPAPER

 

"This trio of electric guitarist Elaine Stef and taiko (Japanese drum) players Eileen Kage and Leslie Komori weaves a rhythmic magic that leaves audiences transfixed. The pulsing, shifting percussion and sinuous, scattered guitar in tunes such as Staying Alive or Tarantella is mood-altering. Whether it's the drummers shouting and coaxing out martial beats paired with accordion on Soran Bushi-Last Potato Polka, or quietly backing the flute on the beautiful April 26, LOUD's fusions never come off as precious or "artsy". If avant-garde music was this genuine and unfettered by mission statements and posturing more often, there would be a lot more listeners for it."

by Stuart Derdeyn - THE PROVINCE

"I must confess to an initial lack of open-mindedness about LOUD. After all, their name seems more appropriate to a set of 18-year-old punks (and I'm surprised none has taken it), and their line-up -- an electric guitarist and two taiko drummers -- seems to scream of an earnest world music experiment that would have me snoozing. I was wrong. Very wrong. Taikoelectric is in fact a remarkable journey that starts with the basic elements involved -- the atmospheric guitar stabs and noodles of Elaine Stef (Rhythm Activism) and polyrhythmic drumming of Eileen Kage and Leslie Komori. Having established that foundation, the group goes on to flesh out the intricate possibilites of their line-up, and by the time Komori picks up a flute on "April 26," it sweetens the melody into something simply breathtaking. On tracks like 'Pebbles and Boulders,' the warmth and depth of the Japanese drums drops you into a dark hole of layered rhythms that makes you wonder just what's going on in frequencies we can't hear. In contrast, 'Soran Bushi-Last Potato Polka' pulls out all the stops in a stew pot of Eastern European and Asian sounds. Free your mind and open your ears -- LOUD won't disappoint."

by James Keast - EXCLAIM!

"Pounding, haunting and rhythmic, [taikoelectric] is an instrumental album that explores old Japanese and new jazz sounds, all with the intentional heat of an arsonist's fire...This is essentially a soundtrack to a movie not yet made."

by Fish Griwkowsky - EDMONTON SUN on line link

"'Tarantella'... fosters reminiscent feelings of walking through alleys and urban pathways with nowhere to turn...The urgency of LOUD's music demands our focus for its rhythmic frequencies. It will prompt you for an active ear. It will ask for a sentiment. It will promise listners an electrical effect.

by Denise Tang - KINESIS

"Taiko drums and electric guitars, anyone? Vancouver post-rock trio LOUD have produced a provocative recording from these very ingredients..Guitarist Elaine Stef and taiko players Eileen Kage and Leslie Komori create pit-of-your-stomach rhythms, rich in both texture and complexity, complemented by shouts and grunts that would make Keith Jarrett blush...On 'Soran Bushi-Last Potato Polka,' Stef straps on an accordion that, while remaining true to the tune's Japanese roots, also sounds strangely Cajun.

by Josef Braun - VUE MAGAZINE, Edmonton

 

"The music is an exhilarating fusion of the styles of the individual players, Stef's guitar technique blending to great effect with Kage and Komori's taiko playing...I have to count it as one of the strongest taiko-based recordings I have heard to date.."

by John Endo Greenaway - THE JCCA BULLETIN

 

CD taikoelectric