SYLIANRUE – Reflection

SYLIANRUE is the solo project of Yuichi Nishikawa, a former industrial rock vocalist who shifted into composition after developing a vocal disorder. He’s written music for dozens of stage productions, including plays and contemporary dance, and has worked closely with director Kenta Fukasaku through the theater unit Fukasaku-gumi. He describes his music as a place where melody and noise can sit together, made for people who feel worn down by life, not for passive comfort.

Reflection sounds like someone who knows how to score a room. The pieces are built out of piano, strings, field recordings, and lo-fi decay, but the real glue is pacing, how quickly a track can turn from calm to unsettling without announcing it.

“Lost in Thought” opens with faded, worn piano. The melody is melancholic and thoughtful with a small hint of hope, and field recordings fill the stereo and give it depth.

The title track starts on building strings holding long notes, warm but disorienting, dramatic chords that feel alive. A lo-fi, noise-dusted melody creeps in from the background like an old tape loop. The piece keeps growing, then opens further with higher notes before dropping back into atmosphere. It’s a strong example of what Nishikawa means by beauty and noise living in the same frame.

“Floating Dust” stretches that idea into a longer form. Soft piano sits under high, airy background sound that gives the track an “unknown” edge. When the string section arrives, the cue turns cinematic. The main melody stays minimal but hits hard emotionally, and when the sub bass finally shows up it changes the weight of the whole room.

“See Saw” starts with guitar and an ethereal vocal, then brings in spoken words mixed with sung ad-libs. It has a jazzy lean in the feel, with plucky accents adding color. Disturbing strings push it into a darker place, haunting and sharp.

“Cobalt Blue in the Bottle” is pure atmosphere, field recordings across the stereo, bells, and even children’s voices in the background. It carries a haunting edge while still staying pleasant, the kind of cue that would sit in a horror film without needing jump scares.

“Anechoic Room” is the album’s hard left. Piano plucks and dim arps sit next to distorted guitar used as a pad, then a trippy beat arrives that feels trip-hop in texture but hits on a four-on-the-floor kick. The groove takes over with mid-bass drive, a saxophone adds a crime-film tint, and a pitched vocal shows up late and flips the mood again.

Sync fit: psychological thrillers, slow horror scenes, art-house drama, and gallery-style visuals. “Cobalt Blue in the Bottle” fits horror cleanly. “Anechoic Room” fits crime and chase edits. “Floating Dust” fits space and grief montage.