Room 40 is that Aussie label with the impeccable credentials, earned from showcasing the outer reaches of electronic & avant garde, uber minimal techno & futuristic ghost pop. They're like a big conceptual tree made out of origami orchids & unfolding, intricate birds constructed from snow crystals. That's what the Tujiko Noriko / Lawrence English / John Chantler collaboration CD says to me. Opening with otherworldly poetry from a Japanese lady set to a subtle, organic techno ballad that I could really see appealing to fans of (especially) mid period Bjork or Cocteaus, her voice trailing wispily over a beautifully stunted half paced beat with some gorgeous atmospherics. What an opener! I love the beats on this album, they're so pure & rudimentary, on 'Hyouga' they're like echo-laden wooden snare cracks mingling with warm guitar shimmers & gently pulsing bass thrums whilst the voice meanders dreamily around the song. I think they've, between them, discovered the essence of the magic of 3. This is a beautifully constructed & very pure ambient record full of magic, wonder & the power of voice vs. instruments both electronic & organic. For an experimental label, you've got quite an accesible recording here, full of sweet esoteric vocals, dynamic minimalism & spellbinding astral sound that will totally absorb you, if you've ears. U is marvellous stuff!!
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What their label says...
Tujiko Noriko joins with collaborators Lawrence English and John Chantler for ‘U’, a record of orbiting themes, esoteric lyrical wordplays and warm analog-infused song-forms.
Following on from the acclaimed ‘Blurred In My Mirror (ROOM40), ‘U’ is a record of phases and exchanges between Paris and Brisbane over a three year period. A record of extended technique and unconventional process, U is most of all a swelling passage through the rare and exotic reality Tujiko Noriko evokes through her curiously dream-like songs.
U is by far one of Noriko’s most affecting records. It's also one of her most eclectic, littered with songs that tell of moments of absolute loss and unrelenting ecstasy.
