Wrwtfww Switzerland Vinyl & CDs

Review: For their latest must-check full length, Swiss ambient and jazz enthusiasts WRWTFWW have offered up a timely reissue of Satoshi Ashikawa's previously Japan-only 1982 album "Still Way". In some quarters it's considered a triumph of Japanese minimalism - an ambient set that was equally as inspired by Erik Satie as Brian Eno. The sounds are sparse, atmospheric and alluring, with simple harp, vibraphone, piano and flute motifs taking it in turns to rise and fall across the soundspace. It's intricate, soft-focus and hugely poignant, evoking memories of similarly lauded sets by Ashikawa's countrymen Hiroshi Yoshimura and Midori Takada. In other words, it's sublime.

Review: The latest outing from Swiss reissue specialists WRWTFWW takes us back to 1981 and the debut single from Bern-based post-punk combo Grauzone. The 12" release of "Eisbaer" has long been a must-have amongst fans of off-kilter, dancefloor-ready new wave, and this replica reissue includes all three tracks featured on that version. Opener "Eisbar" sets the tone, with the bands weary, half spoken/half sung vocals rising above a backing track that's powered forwards by relentless bass guitar, screeching riffs and broken computer style electronics. "Film 2" is a heavy, synthesizer powered workout peppered with delay-laden drum hits and odd noises, while closing cut "Ich Liebe Sie" is a clicking and quietly melodious affair that's almost entirely electronic.

Review: Originally released in 1998, Mixmaster Morris & Jonah Sharp's Quiet Logic surprisingly flew under the radar when it came out.- perhaps because of the huge amount of electronic music being released at the time. The pair have some of the most important albums and tracks in their respected genres and are arguably two of the most important figures in the electronic music chill out scene from the 90s, and when you add the input of Haruomi Hosono from Yellow Magic Orchestra on two tracks, it becomes an even more essential listen. Chill out heads unite!

Review: Having previously reissued Mkwaju Ensemble's inspired 1981 debut "Ki-Motion", WRWTFWW now turns its attention to their equally impressive follow-up from the same year, "Mkwaju". Beginning with a breezy chunk of Marimba-driven four-to-the-floor bliss, the album sees the Japanese trio - whose members included legendary percussionist and ambient artist Midori Takada - shuffle between hypnotic, Steve Reich-influenced minimalism ("Shak Shak"), melodious fusions of new age electronica and modern American classical ("Tira-Rin"), and glacial ambient soundscapes ("Pulse In The Mind"). Best of all, though, is "Flash-Back", a dense and intoxicating percussion workout that stretches out over 13 mind-bending minutes.

Review: Conceptually derived from the work of Japanese minimalist composer Satoshi Ashikawa, Dublin-based composer Gareth Quinn Redmond has created an album of environmental music which he hopes will engage, enrich and reflect the listener's surroundings. This is a companion album to Ashikawa's 1982 LP Still Way, which was originally released as part of the wave notation series which also included Hiroshi Yoshimura's seminal Music For Nine Postcards. The album takes Ashikawa's meditative sound designs to more dramatic and lyrical landscapes, gracefully instilling his personal touch into the master's melodic patterns to present six pieces which blend and reflect the modern listener's ever changing environment.

Review: In 1984 Japanese pianist Satsuki Shibano composed and compiled a series of reinterpretations of compositions by the French composer Erik Satie - in turn known for his minimalist and avant-garde works, the 'Gymnopedie' the most ubiquitous among them. Shibano's takes on an incredible quantity of Satie's works, from 'La Balancoire' to 'Voix D'interieur', are about as pure as piano compositions can get, starkly carving out their nearly Platonic form.. This reissue via WRWTFWW also features the original artwork by Shinro Ohtake.

Review: Earlier in the year, Midori Takada released his first new solo album in 23 years - a breathlessly brilliant Afro-ambient extravaganza recorded "in a live setting" and utilising instruments held in the MEG Museum in Geneva. Recorded in 2918 and similarly produced with assistance from the museum, You Who Are Leaving sees the long-serving Japanese percussionist combine his own spiritual compositions with vintage recordings of chants by a Buddhist choir, led by Reverend Syuukoh Ikaw. For the most part, it's a sparse, haunting and intoxicating affair, with sustained chants being combined with all manner of percussion instruments (bells, cymbals, chimes, glass bowls) and plenty of studio effects to create mesmerising soundscapes. It's very good all told - so much so that it will likely one day be considered a new age ambient masterpiece.