Bleep

Studio Mule has really made a name for itself in 2018. Off the back of some quality releases that have included the highly-recommended Midnight In Tokyo compilations, the Mule Musiq offshoot has now re-pressed a 1986 LP from Motohiko Hamase. A noted jazz bassist throughout the 70’s, the next decade saw Hamase develop a penchant for New Age and ambient sounds. He synthesises these interests on his debut solo LP Intaglio. The pieces here often nod to the contemporaneous compositions of Midori Takada - see how ‘Lung’, ‘Elan Vital’ and ‘Rain Calls For Bird’ derive much of their motion from flowing marimbas. Elsewhere tracks like ‘Symptom’ are so detailed and choppy that they sound more like Igor Stravinsky than jazz fusion. Hamase’s lyrical and elegant bass playing takes centre-stage at many moments.