"... ventures into realms of free-improvisation and sonic abstraction..."
Natsuki Tamura may be better known to some as Mr Satoko Fujii. His creative genius, however, does not take a backseat to his wife's. Exit shows us yet another facet of this man's gargantuan musical vision.
The quartet assembled is completely electric and features his wife, Satoko Fujii , on synthesizers, Takayuki Kato on guitar, and Ryojiro Furusawa on drums. Every instrument is electronically processed to create a wide exploratory musical canvas. Recorded in one day ( October 28,2003), the entire disc flows as one musical movement. Right from the opening notes of "Entrance" the listener is pushed out of the safe confines of his home and into the vast emptiness of space. Each musician; each note; seems to be allowed to swim freely in a univserse of sounds and textures. Aggressive trumpet and over-the-top drumming may swim along side minimalistic bass lines and exploratory synths passages; only to have everyone instantaneously reverse polarity , as if flicking a light switch. The overall effect is a larger-than-life kaleidoscope of notes, noises, grunts, flutters.. Yet, there is a musical thread which unites all these seemingly detached and discordant sounds. Although the songs seem to be barely holding together, one still gets a feel of musical cohesiveness; primarily due to Tamura's uncanny ability to know when to insert coherent musical lines. It's almost as if a sixth sense tells him when to shift the direction of a track. I've yet to hear this kind on innate ability in any musician since the late Miles Davis did it so effectively in the late 60s/ early 70s with his landmark recordings of In A Slient Way and Bitches Brew. I would easily equate "Exit" to these two monumental recordings.
Is this a disc to listen to while reading the Sunday paper ? - No. This is an extremely demanding and challenging listen. One must dedicate all of one's attention in order to pick up and appreciate all the subtle nuances of the music. Like any difficult task , however, the rewards far outweigh the effort. Highly recommended.
Track Listing:
- Entrance ( 6:08)
- Endanger ( 10:43)
- Eliminate ( 26:24)
- Expired ( 12:30)
- Exit ( 4:19)
Printer Friendly Page
Send to a Friend
