shoWA 44

Kaihogyo (www.kimnara.com.au)

As well as being exceptional improvisers, Showa 44’s Simon Barker and Carl Dewhurst are long-distance, barefoot runners, recording themselves running to form rhythmic beds for two of these three pieces. That their footfalls are in approximate rather than perfect unison fattens an intrinsically hypnotic rhythm. This breadth is amplified by Barker’s electronicallytreated cymbals and overlaid with Dewhurst’s shimmering guitar textures. Over the years the two have gradually migrated from more conventional improvised dialogues towards ambient soundscapes, and this album is the fullest expression of that. On the first two pieces the rhythmic crosscurrents create sonic whirlpools that suck you into a vortex, and meanwhile what sounds like a bass is actually a distorted ride cymbal! The third piece, a release from the prior persistent rhythms, just lets you float on a cloud of sound.