Wonder Waltz

UK IMPORT. Another year, another superb album from Susumu Yokota. With Yokota, it's never just another album though, is it? As an artist continually stretching the boundaries, Yokota is always up to something new, and Wonder Waltz is no exception. Inspired by his recent collaboration with vocalist Caroline Ross, Yokota invited four distinct musicians to record what may be his most unusual album yet. Alongside Ross, Wonder Waltz features Moravian violinist and singer Iva Bittova (a regular performer with Bang On A Can), Japanese singer and fashion icon Hahimi Karie, and French DJ Alex From Tokyo, who conversely is now famous in Japan. If this were a film it would be directed by Ingmar Bergman or Ang Lee -- The Seventh Seal meets Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon -- a phantasmagoria of unusual sounds, textures, spectral voices and deep beats. From these disparate elements Yokota creates a deep web of sound that encompasses everything from dub, folk, techno, gamelan, guitar raga, classical and avant garde.