Whisperin And Hollerin (.COM)

Tokyo duo Illuha, whose name is a play on ‘island’ in Portugese, have produced a debut album of graceful ambience using an array of instruments captured using some unusual recording methods. Recorded in a century-old church, the set-up included ambient and quad-microphone techniques to bring the rich tones and textures of their compositions to life. The result is really quite magical.

Delicate strings and sparse piano drift cloud-like on ‘Rokuu’. Incidental dulcimer chimes and subtle ambience softly trails just beneath to bring depth but never disturbs the tranquil mood. Even with the introduction of voice – Japanese poet Tadahito Ichinoseki recites one of his works on ‘Saika’, the spell remains unbroken.

Ethereal, translucent, <i>Shizuku</i> is not an album that builds drama or tension, and instead the minimalist sounds maintain a rolling plateau across the five pieces to create an album that’s altogether restful.