“I believe in art as the manifestation of the universe through the minds of artists. I believe that every artist needs help in finding their own voice. I believe that art is what makes people grow.” These words by Yakumo Kobe vividly reflect his approach to creativity and life.
Yakumo Kobe is a producer, “master of sound,” and creator of noise constructions, a person who literally molds sound. The real name of this talent is Marco Paolini, and he has long been fascinated by how sound can become melody. His idea is to capture the music hidden in noise and everyday sounds, like rustling.
Marco burst into the music industry back in 1997, when Drum & Bass and Trance were at their peak. A co-founder of the duo Noise a.m. and a sound designer in cinema since 2011, Yakumo Kobe has been through a lot. A special place in his work is occupied by the album “Monkey Speaks,” which stands out for its intuitive and emotional depth. The music album, released in 2020, includes reworked tracks written during the difficult years between 2010 and 2011. This was a time filled with hardships: he faced loss, a battle with cancer, toxic relationships, and fear for the future. “Monkey Speaks” is an internal dialogue, an understanding of oneself and what was happening in his soul during that period.
Yakumo says about his album: “Now I understand what I wanted to say, and now I was able to express it. In this sense, ‘Monkey’ is my inner animal self that could not speak and tried to communicate with me on a pure, instinctive level.”
Including 8 tracks, the album “Monkey Speaks” with cosmic elegance opens with the track “Logically Proved” – Yakumo Kobe tries to hear with his heart and connect the body with the mind. Listening to the track, a “conceptual galaxy” of Kobe unfolded before me. Against the backdrop of cosmic sounds and deep basses, sounds emerged from the shadows and illuminated the inner cosmos. In the melodies of the track, a philosophical question is heard: “How can one connect the heart and the mind, the body and consciousness?” Here is an elusive striving for harmony, for finding a golden mean between logic and emotions.
After the eruption of the first track, “Monkey Speaks” deftly transitions into the misty, rhythmically laden, and dusty-sounding track “Abluption in the Grass.” Here, there is a clash between the rich texture and the intuitively appealing chaos. Kobe is not afraid to change tempo and sensations – he skillfully weaves threads of sound into a cohesive image. For him, sound is a hidden melody that needs to be revealed.
The track “It Happens Before a Dream,” personally for me, is like reading a passionate love letter, while the following “A Dream” seemed to me a somber hymn of devotion. The music in both tracks, driven by deep grooves, gradually leads to a climax where everything pauses on a tender, almost ethereal note of love and transcendence.
The dreamy atmosphere caught me in the track “Deserve to Live,” but just as I began to relax, harsh percussion appeared in the melody. And here something special happens: instead of shattering this dreamy world, the percussion starts to dance with it. There is a collision of two opposing energies that gradually penetrates the consciousness. I found myself in a strange balance between dreaminess and harshness. But with the first chords of “A Walk,” the dreaminess evaporates, leaving only the harshness. And it comes in such a way that I felt as if Kobe was saying to me: “Well, are you relaxed now? Hold on!” The sounds of “A Walk” squeezed my brain in a firm grip, leaving no chance to escape or evade. Yakumo Kobe’s approach to music is based on sound as a source of internal melody, and this is felt in the album’s sonic design.
He resolutely follows his own artistic code, obeying only the demands of sound. And it seems to me that’s why he chose the track “Collateral Party” for the finale. This track is the very animal that has been trying to break free all this time, which cannot speak in words and communicates through pure, untamed sounds. “Collateral Party” is the climax of the album, the moment when the artist ceases to resist and fully surrenders to the sound.
Did this album leave a mark on my consciousness? Definitely. And perhaps I will rethink my harmony with the surrounding world. Undoubtedly, “Monkey Speaks” is a challenge to dialogue with oneself.
Yakumo Kobe is a fan of the arts and technology, constantly seeking opportunities to collaborate with artists and always ready to offer his expertise and unique taste. He is also passionate about photography and mixed techniques. Continuously searching for inspiration and new partnerships, he reveals his inner world through his musical works and everything he does.
The release includes a photo book full of digital paintings that, in themselves, are an art of image manipulation. These works resonate with the emotions of the songs and convey feelings and touchpoints where digital transformation allows one to grasp what might otherwise have slipped away.
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