Hoshi No Koe
Kyoto-based Nobukazu Takemura's wonderful music straddles two worlds: the glitchy-scratchy hinterland of PowerBook experimentation (featured on 2000'sScope) and the fuzzy-wuzzy womb of naive-melody-infused electronica (check outFunfare, under Takemura's appropriate alias Child's View). On this release, the man's balancing act is even more pronounced. "White Sheep and Small Light" weds horns and a kindergarten calliope to create a soundtrack for the Penguin Café's day-care center, while the 17-minute "Chrysalis" sounds like a nearly random collection of exotic sonic insects found breeding in machines we have yet to invent. The best cuts fuse the two sides of Takemura's psyche: simple melodies anchor fetching tunes while the beats and noises go gaga. So the comfy chords of "Anemometer" disintegrate into a percussive medley of ceramic tiles and alien xylophones, while the quaint little melody of "Sign" snakes through a world of ruined drum boxes, "Stephen Hawking sings!" and distorted R2-D2 scat. Look for theaccompanying remix versionof "Sign."--Erik Davis