A'qui Avec Gabriel - Itsukushimi No Ame No Naka De

I've reviewed quite a few records at this point but I think this is my first effort at taking on a release of solo accordion improv so I feel I should thank this lady (who, contrary to the name and the instrument, is Japanese) for the opportunity. Coming in on Sachiko's label and after having collaborated with Keiji Haino you'd be forgiven for thinking that this is gonna be pretty out-there, but in fact there's quite a poppy sort of sensibility on show with many of the tracks sounding like they wouldn't be at all out of place on a bustling Parisian street corner. But however beautifully she plays I can't help but think of the real star as the pure sound of the instrument itself, particularly they hypnotic, droney reverberations as it wheezily inhales and exhales in the slower passages.