Toshimaru Nakamura – No Input Mixing Board #8

No surprise that I eventually got around to listening to this album. Somewhat more surprising that Toshi's work continues to impress over 20 years after his first release. As with much of his material, there is a great sense of balance - not only harmonically but structurally as well. As anyone who has improvised with such a setup can attest to, the sort of feedback loops used to produce this work can be staggeringly fragile and difficult to control, let alone coax into some sort of coherence. The album runs the gamut aesthetically, from the inspired dynamic flexibility of the first piece, to the muscular rhythmic noise of the second, to the glitchy chords of this last. To be honest, I first grabbed this out of a sense of obligation, but don't let his historical baggage frighten you away - this is highly recommended work.