| Format: | LP |
| Availability: | In stock |
Enchanting Japanese vocal artist Hatis Noit has announced Aura Reworks to be released 26 September. The new release reimagines her acclaimed 2022 debut album, Aura, by legendary artists and collaborators, including the godfather of ambient Laraaji, hip hop duo Armand Hammer, composers and electronic producers Jlin, Alex Somers, William Basinski, Emel, Matthew Herbert and Yu Su.
Alongside today’s news, Hatis Noit reveals the latest single: “A Caso”, reworked by the influential electronic composer Jlin. Noit’s operatic cries are cut and contorted over Jlin’s precise signature rhythms.
“Hatis Noit has a uniquely brilliant vocal approach in her music. I simply wanted to play against it because she never seems to do the same thing twice. I love that about her work. Playing against her isn't easy by any means,” states Jlin.
Aura Reworks opens with a transcendental reinterpretation of the title track “Aura” by laughter meditation practitioner, mystic, and “ambient godfather” Laraaji. Hatis’ haunting vocals whir and groan in conversation with his bouncing hums, over open-tuned zither, kalimba, and timbrels. The soft organic percussion is replaced by thumping, shamanic kick drum on “Thor”, reworked by UK DJ and producer Matthew Herbert. The track is a playful, primal devotion, evoking a bonfire-lit ritual in the centre of a dancefloor. Herbert describes the track as an “auditory hallucination where more modern techniques merged with ancient-sounding voices.” American producer Preservation’s reimagination of “Jomon” combines Hatis Noit’s powerful cries that evoke Japan’s prehistoric Jomon period with slow, considered vocals by cult New York rap duo Armand Hammer over a minimalist drum loop. The result is a bold call to arms, bridging thousands of years.
Alex Somers’ haunting reinterpretation of “Angelus Novus” splinters Hatis’ heavy vocals, transforming them into glitchy ASMR-effect blips that bounce in intensity before a brutal, heartbreaking passage, forcing the listener to stop and breathe. As Somers’ track fades, Hatis’ long, soft hums continue into the most contemplative track, “Inori”, reworked by avant-garde composer William Basinski, introduces a delicate piano to the track. The original version features a field recording of the ocean only one kilometre away from the nuclear power plant in Fukushima, destroyed by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Hatis Noit had been invited there for a memorial ceremony which marked the re-opening of the area for local people to return to their homes. The emotive and compassionate song is dedicated to the lives lost due to 2011’s tsunami, but equally to the memories people have of their hometown. Aura Reworks closes with “Sir Etok” a haunting track reimagined by Emel, whose own voice enters into dialogue with Hatis’, mixing Arabic with her wordless sounds to create new dimensions.
Hatis Noit is a Japanese vocal performer hailing from distant Shiretoko, Hokkaido, who now resides in London. The name Hatis Noit is taken from Japanese folklore, meaning the stem of the lotus flower, as the flower represents the living, while its root represents the afterlife. Therefore, Hatis Noit connects the two worlds, able to move between here and the other side; the past, memory, and subconscious. She has found fans in the late David Lynch and super-producer Rick Rubin. Noit has been making waves on the European music festival circuit with appearances at Womad, Rewire, Le Guess Who? as well as worldwide with appearances at Big Ears Festival, Mutek Montreal, Mexico and Tokyo, amongst others— receiving standing ovations wherever she goes. As The Guardian put it in their Ones to Watch column, she "has been moving audiences to tears."
