In my experience, Ambient is a genre of music that people tend to shy away from. It oftentimes seems too pretentious or difficult to understand, or simply people do not see the point in it. There’s no lyrical content or obvious tune, why should I listen? Although voiceless Lamentations by Sachi Kobayashi airs out grievances over current conflict and urges a message of peace among all people.
Sachi Kobayashi is an experimental ambient artist from Saitama Prefecture in Japan. Creating this record not on a laptop or DAW but on a tape deck leading to the album having an uniquely human feel to it, asking us to look within ourselves and allow ourselves to be vulnerable. When speaking about this record Kobayashi stated: “Lamentations was born out of my sadness and grief towards the current wars. I hope for all people to be able to live in peace and safety as soon as possible.”
The feel of each track clearly relates to its title, the most striking example being track five, Memory. With its nostalgic yet haunting samples the track exudes a sadness found when grieving memories. Kobayashi talks about being in choirs when she was little and this influence shines through on this record, Lamentations was created with vulnerability and intention and the result is an ambient album that is full of heartache and distress and yet despite it all, it remains hopeful.
Sachi Kobayashi: Lamentations – Out 28th June 2024 (Phantom Limb’s Spirituals)
PSALM016: Lamentations | Sachi Kobayashi (bandcamp.com)
Meg is a proud Mancunian and Music Journalist. She started out by writing press releases for bands in her free time, but now runs her own website Dyrti which she plans to expand in the near future. She loves Lester Bangs and Tony Wilson and has interviewed bands such as Cabbage, Oceans On Mars and Adult Cinema. You will more often than not find her somewhere in the Northern Quarter.
