Room40 Rec. 
Tenniscoats : Temporacha (JAP,2009)****'
Having heard one more release by the band, I expected another good one, but this exceeded my expectations completely. You can consider this album as a concept on its own. It is based upon improvisation by the duo at Wako-Jurin Park and by the Koma-Gawa river. I have never heard so much attention to sound on its own, and to space and the environment. This pretty much is meditating and improvising in addition to what the environment has to offer. It rediscovers a lost gift of men to use its ears to create music into its environment and to react with it, not against it.
On “Ichinichi” the first few notes on acoustic guitar keep lots of respectful distance, create their own space before becoming one with the existing space. The oscillating accordion is like breathing a few times, taking it in calmly. Silence becomes the most prominent sounds. You can hear some birds at a distance. “Ninichime” continues in the same vein, with doublets on keyboards and acoustic strums with occasional traffic approaching and leaving, all becomes like an interaction, breathing its sounds in space with its own life. “End Of The Day-slight hunger” is a sound exploration of what sounds a bit like a thumpiano combined with piano, a combination which gives an original new flavour of what sounds somewhat synthesized like a toypiano, into two sounds, an interesting sound world, with some touches of insect-beeping chords on what presumably is a keyboard. On “timeless” we hear another interesting close sound combination sounding like coming from a flute organ, moving organically a bit like a door moving by opening and closing by the wind, while rain or water can be heard in the background. Besides a few occasional sounds produced in the environment, a second part is produced by slowly played thumbpiano with wooden blocks, an expression as if from some Japanese classical opera without actors, but only with nature and the expression of its conditions. This is also while water in the background is streaming downwards. There is some space between the playing but the melody evolves. As a reaction to the plucks and ticks and rain doublets of organ respond, first like a claxon, then with free and a few longer notes. Brilliant is “Do”, a word response (“do”) to splashing (of some leaves?) on the water. Also this gives a beautiful sound conceptual and meditative call-and response idea expressing the whole condition, not louder or more than is needed. Eternity captured. Beautifully. On “Sitting by” the clicks are slashed on the ground leaving a trace of echo in the distance (a wall or something bigger), while some acoustic guitar picking improvisation is inspired by the moment. Two guitars pick their way further, like a journey on its own, somewhat minimal but still with strange details of combinations, with a certain natural randomness, just like the rain itself. On the last track, “Dream is refreshing” the people participating became much more aware of their own appearance, perform a subtle voice improvisation, play organ drone notes, add minimal tapped acoustic guitar melodies. The singing is like a lone improvisation in the garden. The presence becomes even more real and human, a few real words starts to appear, and while a bird whistles like the master’s voice of nature in the background, the album makes it’s closer simply by the word “stop-p”. A brilliant experience.
How others compose something like a subtle laptop recording this is an all real (improvisation) and for real (sounds) recording.
