The Acts of Singbonger

Story and photos by Keiichi Ishizuka

The album is on sale at Peacock Music in Plattsburgh for $7.98.

After listening to this five-track CD, two words came to mind: unconsciousness and instability. Once the music starts, and the broken keyboard sounds begin to play, it is obvious that this music is not cheerful. The artists had something to express, perhaps something dark and complicated. There are no lyrics in it, but the floating sounds of keyboard, the fragments of piano sounds, and the dissonant noises that continue rolling throughout the music convey just as much emotion as words.

Mikey Lemieux released the album in summer 2004.

This music can be categorized as ambient music, although Singbonger's work is not relaxing. The CD is comparable to stepping down the stairs into a dark room. Every single piano sound on this CD is like taking a step into an unfamiliar place. The pianist is trying to find something he is unsure of, and this seems to be the prevailing theme of the music. Not only is ambient music relaxing, but it is also thought-provoking. However, not all music without lyrics is healing and mind-refreshing music. This CD is Singbonger's journey to find themselves.

Many composers create this kind of sound, such as Brian Eno, one of the most influencial composers of ambient music, and Grammy Award-winning musician Kitaro. Singbonger's music seems to be a learning process, and could be cleaner and more refined.

Are you a fan of ambient music?