Casino Versus Japan – Hitori + Kaiso 1998-2001

Sublime album. If anyone is selling this CD, please, hmu! Thank you.

there is nothing, nothing, nothing like casino versus japan. Aurally, this is the height of music. I've listened to thins album once around 10 years every day. Yes, in total i have used 1 month, 1 week, 12 days, and 833 minutes in all, and counting. I tried to stop myself, but there is no equivalent to Kowalski. if you are in doubt about buying this album, jump off a bridge, sample the sound and beg Kowalski make it a beat.

On HITORI + KAISO, a collection of Casino Versus Japan's various tracks, his penchant for beautiful IDM comes through loud and clear, from the ghostly opener, "Buried," which sets a wobbly tones and a deconstructed vocal sample to a staticky beat. "Dropsickle" emphasizes the long tones again--one of Casino Versus Japan's hallmarks (although sharp, shrill notes also pop in, such as on "Search for the Sun"). It lends a feeling of suspension on many of the tracks, such as the languorous "Glossy Triad." The vocals on "Marilyn Set Me Free" add a new texture to the album, as do the spacey blips on "Wasted Snow Home." On the second disc, "Pinwheel" spins by on some simple arpeggios, but, as a whole, the tracks here seem like fragments--albeit beautifully arranged fragments (like the dreamy "Stolen")--more suited to background music than active listening. Many tracks lean on shoegazing influences ("Theme from Lazy Day"; the fuzz-heavy "Map Happy"). But the funky "Said Virgo" bursts through the miasma with a bouncy bassline that gives the track some attitude. Overall, a strong, if not consistent, listen.

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xylin66....I have to completely disagree with your review. I think this release is an essential addition to Casino's catalogue. Sure, maybe not all the tracks are mind blowing like his newer releases, but, listen to something like Aphex Twin "Classics" and compare it to the "Richard D James" album. They're not even in the same catagory. The songs on this double cd are like freshly painted pictures, they're beautifully captured moments that don't require hours of intricate editing work to become masterpieces in and of themselves .

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Casino versus japan is becoming one of my favourite artist's of the last two years, and is album is one of the best, packed full of nice tunes and heart felt tracks.
This is a must of all fan's of so called idm music and fans of lush electronica.
If your going to get one of his albums go for this one 1st.