ASA CHANG AND JUNRAY - Tsuginepu (400KBPS 39mb)

Fascinating second excursion for Asa Chang and Junray on the leaf label, one of those strangely varied and opulent albums that doesn’t quite make sense first time up, but just forces you to give it repeated attention, if only just to grasp its strange pull. ‘Toremoro’ isa brilliantly eccentric and wildly beautiful opening, a multicoloured forest scene complete with tweeting chirps and electronic malfunctions, complimented by a whispering far Eastern flute that brings to mind all manner of strange creatures and life affirming scenarios. ‘...Ittemita’ is beguiling, original female chanting edited and cutup to create a sort of ambient Prefuse 73 working in comission for the tibetan clergy. Quite amazing stuff. Once again, this is a compelling and wildly original album that nestles itself somewhere between Nobokazu Takemura and anonther life, somewhere in the far east, a long time ago. Gorgeous.(boomkat)