A really cool blend of voice and electronics – years ahead of its time, and with a vibe that maybe prefaces some of the European industrial work to come at the end of the 70s! Ruth White is well known for her electronic experimentation – right up there with the work of Pierre Henry at the same time – but for this release, she also adds a bit of her own voice too – readings of words from the poems of Charles Baudelaire, but processed in ways that really emphasize some of the darkness in the lines in a really great way! White does all sorts of cool things with her voice, in ways that are again years ahead of their time – and titles include "Owls", "The Cat", "Spleen", and "The Litanies Of Satan". CD

Searing sounds from the Japanese scene at the start of the 70s – music that's equal parts noise and equal parts free jazz – served up on some freaky, fuzzy guitar from Masayuki Takayanagi – and a mix of alto sax, harmonica and bass clarinet from Karou Abe! Abe's a lot noisier here than on some of his later records – and maybe has to be, too – to match the frenetic sounds from Takayanagi's guitar – at a level that prefaces so much later electronic noise improvisation to come – as both musicians come together on two long, improvised tracks. Yet the intensity also abates a bit at points – making for a richer balance of tones as the set goes on – even though we'd guess that if Takayanagi had his way, the whole thing would be full-on, all the way through! (Jazz, Out Sound) CD

Ruben Turba on amplified surfaces, electronics, and recordings and Minami Saeki on voice, viola, and objects. CD