drum & bass / instrumental / vocal

a unique writing collaboration between jansen

barbieri and dj takemura from kyoto, japan

jansen, barbieri, dj takemura with vocals by

jansen

...... there are some grand set-pieces painted on this sprawling canvas; `Spaced' is an Orb-like dub-trawl sporting saxophone and hooting theramin; `Empty Orchestra' pushes Philip Glass keyboards through a black hole into an echoing galaxy of glooping bass; and `The Children Gathering Around The Lake' strums long over valium-slow tribal drums. Relying on atmospherics and carefully underplayed melodies it's an album that peculiarly enough manages to bridge the gap between the Barbican's erudite concert programme and late night spliffing when the clubs have closed.
DJ Magazine March / April 98

Superior slumberous jazzy wanderings that drift through various innovative trip hop, ambient and almost classical guises with a blissful, dreamlike guile. Gorgeous.
Mixmag April 98

Bizarrely this is one of the finest works from the ex-members of Japan. Bizarre in that it's consistency belies the fact it was recorded over many months without Jansen and Barbieri ever communicating with their new collaborator Nobukazu Takemura. Bizarre because there is so much of Jansen and Barbieri's trademark sound there, despite the fact they released so much control over to the Japanese techno musician. But it also has a contemporary sound. Barbieri's System 700 and Prophet V contribute stunning atmospherics but the beats and samples from Jansen and Takemura lead this into the modern world, a place you can imagine the likes of DJ Shadow and Krush inhabiting. It's an album to enjoy as a complete piece and one that points the way forward for Jansen and Barbieri. This is the first collaboration between those old pioneers and one of today's best prospects, but it shouldn't be the last.
Future Music April 98

"The recording evolved continuously over a period of some months with the exchange of multitrack tapes back

and forth between London and Kyoto - editing, overdubbing, recomposing, de-composing and even erasing

elements of the music with each exchange. In collaborating with Takemura in this indirect way, whereby we

never actually met or propositioned ideas, we ventured into a rather experimental area of composition, and the

various musical directions that emerged from this made it a unique and satisfying project to work on."

Initially only available in Japan, the UK release includes a different track listing and alternative mixes.

1. Sun Trap In The Sea *

2. Subtle Bodies **

3. At Eleven ***

4. Spaced **

5. Empty Orchestra **

6. The Children Gathering Around The Lake*

7. Memory And Listening***