Hiroko Ara: Kulta
In the Finnish language kulta means ‘gold’ but it can also be used as a term of endearment to refer to someone precious. It is an appropriate title for this album by Hokkaido musician Hiroko Ara whose life was cut short last year when she sadly died after an illness.
The 13 tracks that make up this album were recorded in Sapporo at the end of 2021 and in February 2022. The recordings were then overdubbed by musicians close to Ara for this posthumous release.
Hiroko Ara played the kantele which is the best known plucked stringed instrument in Finland and has some similarities with the Ryukyu koto. She recorded previously as part of a duo known as Rauma and their album Deep Ocean (2019) was reviewed here and went on to receive much acclaim, not least in Finland.
A few years before that, I was fortunate to see Ara making a rare appearance in Okinawa when she joined Okinawan-Peruvian singer Lucy for a concert in Haebaru. That evening she played her own instrumental set on kantele before joining Lucy to collaborate on some Okinawan songs including ‘Tsuki nu Kaisha’.
On this album she plays her own compositions on the 39-string concert kantele, as well as the 11-string kantele on a couple of tracks. Most of this is instrumental and veers at times towards the ambient, but there are also two recordings with vocals by Yoko Toyokawa. The accompaniment includes viola and violin, and there is some alto sax by Nonoko Yoshida on ‘Glasswing Butterfly’, while ‘Basal shoot’ features Haruhiko Saga on morinkhuur (horse-head fiddle).
Three of these recordings are improvisations. Best of all though is the final recording on the album, ‘Taivasta kohti’ an evocative piece on which Ara’s kantele blends with the harmonium of Timo Alakotila. It’s the perfect way to say goodbye to an adventurous musician from Japan who explored and embraced music from Finland and elsewhere. She is already much missed.
Kulta has been released by Green Pigeon Music.
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June 29, 2024 at 12:57 am
I produced KULTA. And I play the accordion on the album. Thank you for the great review.
I don’t think of this album as a posthumous album. This is new music that HIROKO wanted to make. It is the feeling of looking forward to spring after a long winter and rejoicing in its arrival.Great musicians agreed and put a lot of effort into this album.
June 29, 2024 at 1:30 am
Please let me add some information about the album. Of the 13 tunes recorded, 9 were originally improvised by Hiroko (tracks 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13). KULTA was created by Hiroko’s musician friends who freely recorded the sounds of Hiroko’s improvisations. They also gave each title.