In the last year and a half, the fledgling imprint Schole Records has become a world leader in the growing electro-acoustic genre. And with artists like Akira Kosemura, Haruka Nakamura, and Flica to its name, it isn’t difficult to believe. But even among such past successes Paniyolo manages to stand out. Seemingly possessed with nothing less than the ambition to create the single most peaceful record the world has ever seen, this young Japanese artist has managed to top all of his venerable label-mates with I’m Home, his debut album.

It’s somewhat difficult to describe exactly what happens as you listen to Paniyolo’s work. The warm tones of the acoustic guitar put you at ease, but as the other instruments - and there are several: violin, flute, piano, laptop, drums, and more find their way into the album at various points - begin to de- and re-construct the looping primary melody, you start paying attention, and become drawn into the music. The result is that you exist somewhere in the nexus between passive and active listening, somehow achieving both at once. Your mind is working, but requires no effort to do so, and is rather invigorated by the exercise.

In a certain way, all of the songs on this album are rather similar. Most are focused around acoustic guitar, and begin with a single rhythmic line which will repeat for the rest of the track. After a few bars, another guitar will be layered on top, interacting with that first line. As the song progresses, other instruments will fade in and out of the mix, playing around with each other and that dreamy, looping home base established in the first few seconds. In one respect this is all very simplistic, since everything is based off one simple rhythm, but the interactions that grow out of it become extremely complex. The image of a large tree growing out of a single seed comes to mind, which fits the organic and occasionally pastoral nature of I’m Home perfectly.

In the third track, appropriately enough titled “Track 3,” the coexistant electronic nature of the record becomes more apparent. Slight scratchings at the back of the soundscape persist through the whole song, and small swatches of white noise come and go. A percussion element is introduced which sounds like the most hollow xylophone in the world, and, gradually, the initial pound of the wood becomes distorted. The effect is subtle, but becomes quite noticeable. Thus, amidst these peaceful melodies, Paniyolo chooses to introduce such electronic manipulations. These tiny patches of noise stick out in our hearing, like small movements at the edge of peripheral vision, keeping us interested, keeping us focused, keeping us able to appreciate the music. It is precisely because of elements like these that the album can succeed. And then you realize: “My God, can he even make noise into a peaceful entity?”

I’m Home manages to occupy both poles of many different oppositions. The songs are written in a layer-like method reminiscent of electronica, but are primarily composed with acoustic instruments. The electronic and the organic exist seamlessly together, enhancing each other and allowing for simultaneous passivity and activity, for us to be both stimulated and relaxed. Although the middle sections of the tracks can come to feature a dizzying array of instruments, each occupies it’s own sonic territory, and they never become muddled together - truly a feat of extraordinary composition. Even the most questionable element of the album, a clichéd recording of children laughing and playing which runs throughout “Onigoco,” manages to inhabit this sense of duality. Children laughing and playing - what could be more natural? And yet its very existence as a sample in a piece of music belies its artificiality: the sounds of the children become stripped from the environment in which they were created, and digitally imposed via computer on top of other soundwaves, ready to be repeated forever.

Such coexisting dualities are at the very heart of the electro-acoustic movement, and Paniyolo seems to understand them better than anyone else.I’m Home is hardly a perfect album, and yet I cannot think of a greater success within its genre. That genre is admittedly niche, but I doubt that there is anyone who cannot find some worth within this album, and for those who love this sort of music, this will be one of the best finds all year. Put this record on to relax with, or to sleep with, or to stay awake with for hours and notice all the delightful peculiarities it offers. Regardless, you’ll emerge happy, invigorated, and blessed.

And utterly, utterly relaxed.

-Tom Butcher