À QUI AVEC GABRIEL

à qui avec Gabriel is a Japanese accordionist and vocalist. “à qui,” derived from her name, Aki, is the player, with Gabriel: her trusty accordion. à qui takes a different approach than some of the avant-gardists, including Keiji Haino and Makoto Kawabata, who grace her albums – she gravitates towards stark, ethereal sounds and whispering melodies, rather than imposing dissonance and chaos. Her stylistic palette is eclectic, drawing in shades of jaunty European folk music, the elegant minimalism of Erik Satie, and uniquely light-hearted melancholia. à qui punctuates her solo performance with meaningful silence, emphasizing the humility of the lone performer. Her debut album, Utsuho, was released in 2001 on John Zorn’s Tzadik label. On her solo album, 2010’s Itsukushimi no Ame no naka de (Musik Atlach), she flexibly moves between pop and avant-garde sensibilities with a focused, nostalgic energy. Her following albums on Musik Atlach have found her in collaboration with varied, complementary partners, including the psychedelic rock trio Majutsu no Niwa on 第五作品集Ⅱ (Fifth Works II, 2012), and Makoto Kawabata, leader of the legendary psychedelia unit Acid Mothers Temple, on Golden Tree (2012) and Ame no Tsurugi (2013). à qui also formed the trio Pneuma Hectopascal in 2004.