Susumu Yokota

Japan's Susumu Yokota is a true electronic music renaissance man, who’s been releasing techno, house, jazz, disco and drum & bass sounds since the very early ’90s. Originally released in 1998 as a very limited edition CD on Yokota's own Skintone label, Magic Thread moves in much more minimalist, abstract electronic circles. This is a haunting, oft-dynamic selection, intricate and delicate during pieces such as the ethereal "Weave," and deeply resonant throughout the hypnotic patterns of "Circular." But for every "Melt" and "Unravel," two extremely ambient tracks, there is a "Reflux," where the frame may still be skeletal, but beats, piano and melodic sounds result in a subtly hooky number. "Blend" and "Potential" are similarly beat-heavy  you can almost hear Yokota's brilliant mind at work during the latter, a true musical meeting point where Eastern instrumentation and swashes of sound scale the slowed thump-thump. Dancing by myself indeed.