Kagami - Kagami (2018)

Root Strata co-owner Maxwell August Croy and Jared Blum (Vision Heat) fully commit to YMO and Fairlights, Mallets and Bamboo styles for this session of far eastern electronics and spare ambient jazz gestures clearly intended for fans of YouTube recommendation algorithms.

In 16 succinct pieces, each as lovely as the next, they rotate a kaleidoscopically colourful sound that variously touches on ‘80s computer game and film soundtracks as much as the sophisticated, searching 4th world styles explored by Haruomi Hosono and Yasuaki Shimizu, or their antecedents such as Visible Cloaks in the modern sphere.

The addition of Jonathan Sielaff (Golden Retriever) on bass clarinet and Adam Hill on double bass lends proceedings a trustingly loose and expressive aspect that differentiates Kagami from their field.