Kiyoharu Kuwayama plays the cello and Rina Kijima plays the violin.
Together they are also Lethe, of which a CD was reviewed in Vital before.
This disc contains three pieces, all recorded live at different locations.
The first one was done at the warehouse No. 20 (I don't know where that is)
and the last two were done at the construction site of an underground
expressway. Now these are not your obvious recording locations, but
strangely enough the acoustics are really quiet, especially considering the
fact that an audience was present, at least during the first track. All
tracks have a similar feel, but I can't really tell if they were written or
improvised. My guess is improvisation though (I don't imagine them
rehearsing a piece over and over again at a construction site). Kuwayama
and Kijima are certainly playing with the acoustics of the spaces and at
the same time effortlessly building up tensions and releasing them. They
play very well and have obviously known each other for quite some time,
because they interact very closely. At certain times one can hear one of
the two move away (footsteps can be heard, great!) and come back later
again. This adds a very direct spatial dimension to the music, which I
appreciate very much. For those into contemporary improvisation Kuwayama
and Kijima must not be missed. (VITAL WEEKLY / MR)