Hái!
| Hái! | |||||
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| Studio album by The Creatures | |||||
| Released | October 20, 2003 | ||||
| Recorded | 2002-2003 | ||||
| Studio | Gok Sound (Tokyo), Maison Néko (France) | ||||
| Genre | Alternative, exotica | ||||
| Label | Sioux Records, Instinct Records | ||||
| Producer | The Creatures | ||||
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| Singles from Hai! | |||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| The Independent | very favourable |
| Mojo |   |
| Time Out | very favourable |
Hái! is the fourth and final album to be released by British duo the Creatures, composed of former Siouxsie and the Banshees members Siouxsie Sioux and Budgie. The album was recorded in two parts: the drums were recorded by Budgie and Kodo drummer Leonard Eto in Tokyo in August 2002 and the rest of the recording was done in Europe. During their stay in Japan, the band was inspired and "touched by the delicate snowfall imagery of Akira Kurosawa's Ikiru (1952), absorbing the vibrancy of Tokyo's Roppongi district, and spiritualised by the ancient Shinto shrines and tranquil shores of Lake Ashi."
Hái! was hailed by critics for its "Anglo-Japanese beauty" upon its release in 2003.
In April 2002, Budgie was touring the U.S. with the Banshees, and while in Chicago, met Japanese producer Hoppy Kamiyama, known for his work with Eto. Budgie and Siouxsie had long wanted to collaborate with Eto, but had never contacted him. After an exchange of emails with Eto, the Creatures booked a studio in Tokyo and invited him to join them for a session on 19 August 2002. They approached the session in the same way as they conceived Feast: "Turn up and see what happens!". During the recording, Siouxsie took notes and stockpiled ideas for the songs. In the days that followed the session, the duo visited Roppongi district, the Shinto shrines and Lake Ashi, and shot images with a DV camera (that footage would later appear in a documentary included as a DVD in a limited edition of Hái!).
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Wikipedia