review

PRIORITY (Japan) - 2000 - "Light is Decomposed Into Fragments" - FGBG 4367.AR
Price: 112FF
This is a new project by Takumi Seino, the mentor of incredible Japanese band SIX NORTH (read the review on Six North's great debut album here), who's also the outstanding composer and musician himself. Nine instrumental pieces that feature this album represent another new, in some ways, musical style, created by Seino, once again. This time, this is a kind of stylistics of such different performers as King Crimson (the unit of the Classic Art (Symphonic) Rock genre) and Pat Metheny (Jazz-Fusion), thrown into Takumi's own view on modern music.

Priority/Light is Decomposed into Fragments ....import CD $15.99

PRIORITY is a new project by Takumi Seino, the japanese mentor of the incredible band Six North. Through the nine instrumental pieces of this album, this very exciting musician from Kyoto creates, once more, a new musical style, somewhere between King Crimson and Pat Metheny. A roaming bass (by Naoki Terashima), hypnotic rythms (percussions and samples by Takashi Mori) and for some tracks a raucous, distorted guitar? But Seino also develops a sound similar to Pat Metheny, with melancholic, meditative and Jazzy moods. A fully original and interesting music!

Priority (Japan) - 2001 - "Light Is Discomposed Into Fragments"
(56 min, "Musea"/"Vos")

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Tracklist:
1. Invisible I 5-43
2. Red 7-33
3. Orange 6-58
4. Yellow 4-53
5. Green 5-50
6. Blue 8-29
7. Indigo 5-49
8. Violet 8-40
9. Invisible II 1-29

Line-up:

Takumi Seino - electric & acoustic guitars
Naoki Terashima - electric bass
Jakashi Mori - percussion, samplers

All music written by Takumi Seino.
Recorded by Jakashi Mori
at "Studio Bosco", Shiga, Japan,
29 & 30 March 2000.

Prologue. I have never listened to Priority nor heard of this band until now. Originally, this album was released by the Japanese "Vos Records" label in the spring 2000, and "Musea" has reissued it just lately.
The Album. Musically, "Light Is Discomposed Into Fragments" represents a traditional (modern) Fusion rather than a Classic Jazz-Fusion. Very melodic and, at the same time, quite variegated interplays between electric and bass guitar solos go to the accompaniment of either slow or mid-tempo yet always 'hypnotic' parts of the drums the album throughout. While the first Invisible one begins and ends with some far ghost-like sound effects, the last tracks don't have anything otherworldly, though musically, both these tracks are ones of the most slow and mellow instrumentals, all of which have the same structures. Apart from two said tracks 1&9, other mellow pieces are the following: Red, Indigo, and Violet (tracks 2, 7 & 8 respectively). In other words, all the mid-tempo compositions are placed exactly in the middle of the album. By the way, each of the remaining four instrumentals sounds way more interesting than any of the slow ones. For example, some female phrases in Japanese are heard a few times on Yellow. Green is the album's only piece that contains a real symphonic part, though, of course, some (if not the most of the) guitar and bass solos on the album, especially slow, were also composed (invented) beforehand, but not performed impromptu in the process of recording. A lot of parts of bass guitar on Blue are actually nothing else but Hard Rock riffs, so guitar solos look here not just different from most others, but really effective. Finally, the most wonderful track on the album is Orange. In full accordance with the title, Orange, with a few different guitar and bass solos based on Eastern music, sounds very exotic, to say the least.
Summary. Priority's "Light Is Discomposed Into Fragments", consisting of light's nine fractions-tracks (I could give the Invisible ones their real colours that are White and Black or inside out), is an accessible, very melodic album, composed and performed within quite popular Light Neo Jazz-Fusion. So, as well as the majority of works of traditional modern Fusion, this album will most likely attract a large audience. All lovers of the latter style, as well as those into the latest creation of such (real) stars as Pat Matheny, Lyle Mays, George Benson, Neal Schon (once the leader of famous Journey), Joe Zavinul (once the band-leader and, most often, main mastermind of 'swinging' Jazz-Rock legend Weather Report), etc are in priority welcome into Priority's creation.
VM. September 15, 2001
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PRIORITY - Light is decomposed into fragments
Musea 2001 JAP
I Priority sono il nuovo progetto di Takumi Seino, guida spirituale degli spericolati Six North, e con questo disco d'esordio rischiano di diventare seriamente la nuova grande scoperta del panorama progressivo-sperimentale nipponico. In "Light Is..." apparentemente al primo ascolto non ho trovato nulla di particolarmente memorabile, mi pareva anzi di trovarmi di fronte al classico jazz-rock strumentale di chiara derivazione crimsoniana-ambientale tipico di certe etichette quali la frippiana Discipline Global Mobile oppure addirittura la nostra Materiali Sonori. Ripetuti ascolti mi hanno portato successivamente alla convinzione di trovarmi all'ascolto di un piccolo gioiello in musica. Con il tempo le splendide ed insinuanti melodie della chitarra multiforme e a tratti leggermente zappiana di Takumi Seino si son fatte strada nel mio animo rivelandomi l'inimmaginabile... o quasi! La sezione ritmica ? quanto di pi? versatile si possa immaginare, in particolar modo ? da sottolineare la prestazione di Takashi Moi alle percussioni ed ai sintetizzatori: le basi percussive spaziano con scioltezza dalle situazioni pi? etniche, quasi tribali, a trame pi? marcatamente e tradizionalmente jazzate mentre le sottili ragnatele sonore tessute con i synth disegnano e colorano ambientazioni e spazi sonori ora estremamente solari, ora avvolti nell'ombra e nel buio. Privi di qualsiasi forzatura o pretenziosit? i Priority riescono a stupire proponendo con estrema leggerezza e facilit? di linguaggio una musica di non facile assimilazione, spesso ritenuta dai pi? difficilmente digeribile e cerebrale... un succedersi di brani in perenne sospensione ed equilibrio in cui qualsiasi appassionato della buona musica ha il diritto-dovere di perdersi e ritrovarsi... (GC)
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Solowy projekt lidera 6-North Takumi Seino, utrzymany w klimatach bliskich Robertowi Frippowi i Patowi Metheny. Wyeksponowany, hipnotyczny bas zderzony zostaje z melancholijna? linia? melodyczna? utwor謡. (woj) ***

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April 24 2002
Artist: PRIORITY
Title: Life is Decomposed in Fragments
Format: CD
Band Website: N/A - Band E-Mail: seinomusic@aol.com
Label: Musea - Label E-Mail: museapromotion@wanadoo.fr

Six North member Takumi Seino's side project Priority is a beautiful and enchanting mixture of electronics and fusion... The guitar playing reminds a lot of Pat Metheny or Allan Holdsworth (mostly clean or slightly treated, but also lightly or heavily distorted, obviously with lots of pedalling, fade ins and fade outs, like in fusion's best tradition!) coupled with a beautifully deep fretless bass and an intense and pretty much cymbals-only drumming create a relaxing environment. Samples and layers of soft synthetic sounds help the electronic side create an ethereal and heavenly blend with melodic, meditative and melancholic jazzy vibes, awesome atmospheres and a terrific dreamlike overall experience... A unique album, so intense, so beautiful and so powerful. One of my favorite electronic/fusion records!
Review by: Marc Urselli-Schaerer - [E-Mail]

To be situated between GILGAMESH, KING CRIMSON and PRIAM, three inspired Japanese musicians have decided to fusion Pat METHENY's intimate jazz-rock with the sophistication of the best modern Progressive rock. It is not a play-on-word to say that PRIORITY should be heard above all ! Recorded in 2001, "Light Is Decomposed Into Fragments" should be included in each Japanese discography that wants to show off, even if we're here closer to KEHELL than to GERARD and OUTER LIMITS. This charming music leaves out any impression that it is dificult, even if a research and a certain sophistication are always present. The only expression "Follow The Yellow Big Road" (Do you remember the musical "The Wizard Of Oz" ?), often repeated on top of the jazzy and entertaining "Yellow" breaks the musical predominence. Guitarist Takumi SEINO (SIX NORTH) is probably the Japanese Jean-Pascal BOFFO !