Breath-Taking

The best place to listen to ultra-quiet, inner-searching free improvisation is also one of the hardest venues to find: the basement of the Sound 323 record shop, in London, England. Luckily, its owner Mark Wastell releases the best of these intimate performances on Confront CDs that are only barely easier to find. Breath-Taking is the result of one of Akio Suzuki's rare visits to England. Suzuki's music proceeds from meditation and transforms quotidian objects (a stone flute, small stones, a "silent toy") into fragile means of communication. David Toop makes a very compatible sound-mate. Here he uses an assortment of flutes and whistles, along with a whistling pot and "organic materials" (a vague enough description to allow the listener to imagine at will). Upon first listen, one may think of two serious men making childlike music, but the level of contemplation found in this single, 37-minute piece dispels this first impression. The performance is not particularly striking, even from the point of view of such a quiet form of improvisation, but it is obvious that the music doesn't intend to strike or compel. It is born out of such simplicity that it simply exists — it is there, discreetly inhabiting your listening space, and its sole presence is a marvel. One finds an interesting level of interaction between the artists and inventive, creative sound-making at play, but in the end Breath-Taking is not something to get excited about (either to praise or decry), but to ponder. ~ François Couture, Rovi