Vital Weekly (NL)

This Japanese quartet have been regular guests in Vital Weekly, two of their previous four CDs have been reviewed in these pages (338, 374), as well as various solo projects by it’s members. Minamo’s members play guitar, computer, acoustic guitar, keyboards and electronics. I believe that much of their music is generated through improvisation, which is either edited or played through until a composition arrives – I am not exactely sure how this process works for these guys. The combination of the guitars and the electronics work not against eachother, but along eachother. Sometimes as a striking contrast, such as the opening of “Raum”, but in “Crumbling” everything seems to be interwoven with eachother. These things, improvisation and electronica, do not stand any of the ambient musics in the way; this is after all a 12k release. All six pieces are nicely stretched out, minimalist ambient pieces, which nicely glitch by, with enough emphasis on such things as the guitars to make it not entirely drench in computer technology. This is the way this should be done, I gather. After four ‘good’ CDs, Shining can be classified as ‘better’. (FdW)