Fennesz/Sakamoto

Team up one of modern electronica’s leading forces and an old mainstay innovator and what do you get? In the case of Fennesz (known for their/his groundbreaking 2002 Endless Summer album) and Ryuichi Sakamoto (founder of extraordinary late ’70s/early ’80s Japanese synth-punks Yellow Magic Orchestra, and heir to a steadily growing catalogue of determinedly innovative electro-work) you get a single 19-minute "overture” that moves through a captivating variety of brief and fleeting movements and presents a wonderful synthesis of these respective artists’ electronic shticks. Fennesz’s trademark deteriorating tones snap and pop as they rise in and out of the mix with expert grace, while Sakamoto’s organic subtlety plays the refined foil, settling into and sauntering away from the listener’s ears like a curious hummingbird with a taste for wax. What makes this EP even more impressive is that it was recorded live at last year’s Romaeuropa Festival in Rome. Sala Santa Cecilia is a fine collaborative effort on its own, and a great little teaser for the full-length effort this pair will be releasing in the near future.