EtherReal (FR)

It took almost ten years to benefit from a new album from Illuha, who became a trio in this long interval. Joined by Tatsuhisa Yamamoto on drums, the original duo takes advantage of this contribution to lead their music towards electroacoustic shores, with the crunching of cymbals which dialogue harmoniously with the slightly disturbing layers and the more luminous features coming from purely electronic. Likewise, the hits on the toms bring body and consistency to the dark textures of Corey Fuller and Tomoyoshi Date, or pull the whole thing towards a sort of opaque jazz, when it comes to placing itself in relation to the piano of the first (the second half of Roji).

Accentuating the point, the trio combines a modular synth and a snare drum caressed with brushes (Tsukubai), or highlights precise strikes with a softened tempo on the framework of the same snare drum, intervening in parallel with the smooth strokes of Rhodes (Nijiriguchi) . We are then in a register close to an electronic post-rock, with dreamlike consonances, due to the treatment of the sound background, adorned with a few chirps of birds and other rustlings.

Confirming the variety gained with the addition of Tatsuhisa Yamamoto, Illuha can also deliver a long, very calm piece, held by the piano of Tomoyoshi Date and embellished with micro-electronic fragments bathing in a soft and silky atmosphere (Monkou). This format is continued on the caudal Okurirei, with rare strikes on the cymbal, intended to sequence the long flat areas of layers, like so many small breakthroughs in a thick fog.