KUNIKO - kuniko plays reich - The Music Cube

Kuniko Plays Reich is a new album from Japanese percussionist Kuniko Kato featuring her own percussion arrangements of Steve Reich's Electric Counterpoint (1987, written for guitars), Six Marimbas (1986), and Vermont Counterpoint (1982, written for flutes). Kuniko plays the steel pans, tenor pan, vibraphone, and marimba on the album. Each piece is arranged for solo percussion and pre-recorded tape for live performance.

According to Steve Reich: Kuniko Kato is a first rate percussionist who has put a lot of careful thought and hours of rehearsal into making this excellent CD. She has created new and very beautiful arrangements.

The Guardian‘s Stephen Pritchard calls the album "a hypnotic and strangely calming experience."

Kuniko studied with Keiko Abe at Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo, Japan and Robert Van Sice at Rotterdam Conservatorium in the Netherlands where she graduated summa cum laude as the first percussionist in the conservatory's history. She has since performed around the world and collaborated with many renowned composers and conductors including James Wood, Franco Donatoni, Unsuk Chin and, of course, Steve Reich. She now lives in the US.

If you're looking for something cool and modern, (but still accessible and easy on the ears) I definitely recommend Kuniko Plays Reich.