Pochakaite Malko ~ Japan

Laya (2004)

---March 2005

I loved Pochakaite Malko's debut, so now with KBB’s Akihisa Tsuboy on violin, I figure I’m in for a major treat. And I am! I sure find music like this so easy to listen to. Familiar, yet engaging. Creative, but not groundbreaking. This isn’t Cafeine = Ange more like Anglagard = SFF. Here it’s what? Weidorje / Zao / Daryl Way's Wolf? Same approach, different result. Heavy keyboards, thrashing violin, highly melodic, complex, with a great production.

---9/15/25

It's been 20 years since I heard either of Pochakaite Malko's albums. The first thing I noticed is there isn't guitar on the album and yet Tsuboy's violin often times sounds like one, which is quite cool. My recollection is this album was more steeped in the Zeuhl tradition. But it's clear they have an avant prog slant to them as well. The intensity recalls Happy Family with the violin giving it a Zao feel. But there's no chanting or Kobaian vocals here. One could also make an argument this is a heavy jazz fusion album, just like Tsuboy's KBB outfit. There are similarities between those bands as well. Categorization aside, Laya is a fun listen for those attuned to such sounds. It can be a bit overwhelming, and certainly not the kind of album for beginners. It's just too much at once, but not nauseous like related band Koenjihyakkei could be at times.

In case you're wondering, the band moniker is Bulgarian not Japanese.

Ownership: 2004 Tutinoko (CD). Booklet with photo and recording details.

3//05 (acquired / review); 9/15/25 (update)

Also own and need to review Pochakaite Malko (2001). They released one more mini album Doppelganger (2006) which I've heard but never owned.

9/15/25 (new entry)