Bleep

Legendary artist, curator, performer and author David Toop surfaces (his first real studio recordings on over a decade) on Lawrence English’s Room40 label for this exercise in quiet minimalism and haunted ambience. This is an impeccably produced work that travels the globe in quest of something else. Japanese gagaku. Buddhist ritual from Bhutan, Korean Confucian music. Emi Watanabe’s flute. The sounds of recorded underwater creatures. Sylvia Hallett’s sarangi. The drumming of Rie Nakajima’s small mechanical process. John Butcher’s reeds. These are the things you will hear under Toop’s watchful guise and inspired ear. Tipped for fans of Jon Hassell, Max Eastley, Phillip Jeck, Helm, Ghédalia Tazartès, Wanda Group…