Musicellaneous ‣ Haamoja

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It’s Friday, time to explore the realm of unfamiliar music again!

The unfamiliar is represented today by the Haamoja project from Taiwan playing djent/jazz/fusion.

The entire project, like Owane, is comprised of one person, the Taiwanese Yao-Ting Lee, who is responsible for guitars, programming, recording, mixing etc.

It also features a number of well-known names such as Plini, Anund Vikingstad and the above-mentioned Owane.

Liberation EP

The sound of the debut EP Liberation (2014) reveals a strong resemblance to David Maxim Micic in my opinion. I think it’s a great start, a quality work with a very pleasing contrast between shredding guitars, sax, and pianos.

The album has, however, one problem: the sound spectrum is somewhat distorted so that it’s a bit hollow on the low-end. Commenters on YouTube also share this opinion, mentioning the “crappy EQ”.

Natural Evolution

The project’s only full-length album Natural Evolution (2015) is indeed a clear evolution for Yao-Ting in the musical sense.

The sound has been fixed so it feels more full, whereas the music got more lyrical and its structure evolved and shifted towards jazz-funk. The keyboards remind of Owane, even though he didn’t perform on this one.

Yao-Ting explains:

As you guys probably know, it is very difficult to write an album. It took a little over seven months to write it, record it, and produce it entirely. I’d like to thank everyone who supported me. There will be some more very soon. Finally!

My favourite here is Deep Blue, which features Plini. Well, fair enough since I’m his fan.

All in all I believe it’s Haamoja’s best album and his most thorough release.

Dr. Doofenshmirtz

The funny single Dr. Doofenshmirtz (2016) sounds somewhat oriental. I can’t help it reminding me of Sun Caged, perhaps because of the sitar.

Pure Love

The last release to date, Pure Love (2016) is an apparent move from the djent/prog genres into the domain of sentimental and meditative. It features Owane on guitars.

I’m under the impression that Yao-Ting is either too busy with his family affairs or lost interest in making music. I’d be happy to be wrong, yet I don’t see any upcoming releases in the foreseeable future. Which is a pity.