toshimaru nakamura - egrets (cd)

To fans of free improvisation and the Japanese onkyo, or noise scene, Toshimaru Nakamura needs no introduction; to newcomers, the name of his instrument -- the no-input mixing board -- may sound forbidding, or mechanistic. But for over a decade, Nakamura has cultivated a world of tones from this unlikely instrument, making music both harsh and mesmerizing, humanist and expansive -- with something to lure in music fans of any stripe. 'Egrets has Toshi's signature minimalist stamp but sonically there's a lot more variation to this work,' says founder of samadhisound David Sylvian. 'I have great admiration for Toshi, for his sense of discipline, his risk taking, his openness, generosity and intelligence.' Two guests join Nakamura on this release. 'Semi' is a duo with guitarist Tetuzi Akiyama, who has collaborated with Nakamura for over a decade. 'Since we started to play together, we have been functioning as a unit to host guests to form a trio or quartet, sometimes larger. I think that has given a character to our duo. Observing ourselves, it seems like we don't play' on' each other so much. Instead, we reserve some room for other musicians and listeners.' Their duet is spacious, but complete; Akiyama's ringing acoustic guitar leaves wide spaces where Nakamura chatters and fizzes, quiet but busy like a bird circling a behemoth. By contrast, this was the first time Nakamura had worked with Arve Henriksen, the in-demand trumpeter and co-founder of the acclaimed electro-acoustic group Supersilent. They met at a 2009 session in London, which was organized by David Sylvian during the recording of his audio installation, When We Return You Won't Recognize Us. Henriksen recorded duo and solo performances for this project, which Nakamura pared down to breath sounds and instrument noises: we hear every exhalation and every click of the valves on 'Heater/Refrigerator,' while on 'Tane' the two banter vigorously, bubbling ideas from the guts of one instrument to the other. 'Egrets' is presented in a digipak with artwork and design by Chris Bigg, continuing Samadhisound's commitment to creating beautifully packaged, stunning music.