Florian Walter / Tamayurahitode / Tamayurakurage - Will-O'-The Wisp [Umland Records 063]

Released via Essen's ever active Umland Records label on October 13th, 2k23 is "Will-O'-The Whisp", the first full on cooperational album conceived by one of the imprints core members, Florian Walter, alongside the Japanese artists Tamayurahitode and Tamayurakurage. Recorded in a cabin in the woods located in Japan's Saitama prefecture each of the eight compositions on this roughly 43 minutes spanning longplayer is named after a ghost of a passed human being from the rich Japanese mythology, opening with the calm and tender "Chochin-bi" which presents a combination of minimalist clanging percussion and high pitched tones resembling a flute at times whereas the subsequent "Konsenjo-bi" brings forth a whirlwind of mechanical scraping and rasping, improvised percussion as well as screaming hyper-intense non-vocalisms and spiralling sax lines in the back of the tunes mix. Furthermore "Hitodama" serves whirling pulses of dynamic noise transmissions once again accompanied by eerie high frequency layers and therefore presenting an aesthetic not unlike early Industrial-influenced electro-acoustic music paired with dramatic, highly expressive vocal articulations whilst "Kaika" is getting as close to Avantgarde HarshNoize improvisations as it gets on this album just to name a few. Defo an interesting and in parts nerve-wrecking listening journey, yet one that might only speak to a small and highly experienced audience due to its undeniably abstract nature.

Album artwork on Instagram!