eMusic Review 0
Electronic music is a truly international language these days, but the upshot is it can sometimes feel a little rootless. When producers across the world fromTorontotoTokyoare using the same plug-ins and drawing from the same pool of influences, there’s always a danger of homogeneity.
Not for Zach Saginaw, though. As the title of his latest mini-LP makes clear, his music is very much a direct expression of who he is and where he comes from. His Shigeto pseudonym is a tribute to his Japanese grandfather, and Lineage‘s cover shows a sepia-toned photograph of a boy pushing a bicycle across the courtyard of a dojo, emphasising his heritage. Meanwhile, the richly evocative music on tracks such as “Ann Arbor Part 3 & 4″ and “Huron River Drive” betray a nostalgic longing for theMichigan scenery of his childhood.
Musically, Saginaw seems to have a lot in common with L.A.’s glitch-hop maestro Flying Lotus, in that he combines his considerable jazz chops — he spent six years studying music in college — with a love for the abstract hip-hop patterns of J Dilla, Dabrye and Madlib. Saginaw wears his virtuosity much more easily than Flylo, though, and Lineage is a warm, welcoming listen, characterised by… read more »
