Midori Takada & Lafawndah – Le Renard Bleu

Though perhaps not an immediately obvious pairing, Lafawndah and Midori Takada certainly make an excellent team. Le Renard Bleu, a single-track EP, is Takada’s first release for nearly 20 years, and it certainly doesn’t disappoint. For those who just know her for her 1983 debut album Through the Looking Glass, this recent offering is just as eerily evocative and wonderfully playful as her classic works.

Le Renard Bleu is built around the myth of the fox, a figure present in Japanese folk stories. Archetypally cunning and chaotic, the fox can traditionally flit between the realms of heaven and earth, creating chaos to shake up stagnation. Takada’s fox is no different: her marimba lines have an energy that is disruptive to the peaceful, rhythmless ambient noise that makes up the first part of the track.

Lafawndah’s addition then becomes clear: her voice rises majestically above the chaos created by Takada’s reimagined fox, allowing for a dialogue between the human and the mythic. It's this open communication that forms the crux of the track: Lafawndah’s beautifully controlled vocals interweave with the mischievous marimba, each allowing the other a turn in the spotlight.

Whilst the rhythm and introduction of each line might sound random upon first listening to the track, Lafawndah’s vocals provide the listener with a piece of driftwood on which to cling to in this storm. She communicates a natural human anxiety in troubled times: is it all worth it? Musing, she asks the fox, ‘Should I keep my room in order / Even if you upturn every try / Does the mess afford a treasure / Invisible to the naked eye’

Though often confusing and disorientating, Takada and Lafawndah’s Le Renard Bleu is, in fact, a great comfort. It’s reassuring to know Takada hasn’t allowed herself to be forgotten by history, and to know that Lafawndah is a part of that reinvented history.

Listen to: the whole thing