Three of the most important figures in Japan's improv scene combine with multi-instrumentalist Mark Wastell for this remarkable album on Confront. Foldings was awarded an honourary mention at 2003's Prix Ars Electronica, also scooping a top ten place in The Wire magazine's improvised recordings of the year list. Londoner Mark Wastell visited Tokyo's legendary Offsite venue with guitarist Taku Sugimoto, no-input mixing board maestro Toshimaru Nakamura and Tetuzi Akiyama, who on this release takes up residence behind a turntable. As with so much of the output from these musicians (certainly from around the time this performance was recorded) much of the music is tiny gestures, played with a strange logic, which barely punctuats a gauze of near-silence throughout. It's beautifully restrained though, and ranks as one of the most radical and involving documents within the electroacoustic, super-silent 'onkyo' canon. If you've got the patience for it, this is marvellous stuff. --- Tetuzi Akiyama / turntable, air duster Toshimaru Nakamura / no-input mixing board Taku Sugimoto / acoustic guitar, preparations Mark Wastell / violoncello, preparations, contact mic, amplifier --- Recorded live in concert at Offsite, Yoyogi, Tokyo on January 19th, 2002 by Taku Sugimoto. 

".... it was October 2013 ... Radu, Klaus and Nikos came to Japan. The last day of their tour, Ftarri was booked but it was uncertain what would be done there ... so we decided to invite all our friends to join just a few days before."- Taku Unami "In the fall of 2013, Radu Malfatti (trombone), Nikos Veliotis (cello), and Klaus Filip (ppooll), were on a tour of Japan where they performed in various combinations, including a number of collaborations with local musicians. For the last day of their tour, the three were invited to play at Ftarri, a music store and performance venue in Tokyo. They were joined by a stellar cast of musicians, most of whom they had long-standing relationships with (Taku Sugimoto, electric guitar; Tetuzi Akiyama, acoustic guitar; Taku Unami, electric bass; Moé Kamura, voice; Kazushige Kinoshita, violin; Masahiko Okura, tube; and Toshihiro Koike, trombone). The recording and mastering by Unami captures the proceedings in intimate detail, placing the muted shadings and open structure of the piece in natural contrast to the room sound." – Michael Rosenstein, Point of Departure  --- Tetuzi Akiyama / acoustic guitar Moé Kamura / voice Radu Malfatti / trombone Kazushige Kinoshita / violin Masahiko Okura / tube Nikos Veliotis / cello Taku Unami / electric bass Toshihiro Koike / trombone Klaus Filip / ppooll Taku Sugimoto / electric guitar --- Recorded live at Ftarri on 16th October 2013 by Taku Unami. Mastered by Taku Unami. With thanks to Mark Wastell.