Album Details

• Artist: Koji Asano
• Album: Polar Parliament
• Label: Solstice
• Year of Release: 2011
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: patchen on 2011-11-29

For his 46^th full release, Koji Asano offers two tracks built on a single sound or two, with more warmth that the title would suggest. "Polar Parliament" is haunting and focused, a meditative and metallic drone. Asano knows his way around tones and silences, and the harmony between them

The first piece is basically a single pulse, kind of like a distorted tuba or household appliance. It is driven by the fluctuating and warped nature of that machine, whatever it is. The second track is a buzzing, moody drone, seemingly set in the sweaty basement of a factory. That sense of place however flimsy, is a sharp contrast to the disembodied limbo of the first piece.

Koji Asano has quietly become a fixture on the ambient scene, a legend with seemingly no desire for attention. He just works and works, with a staggering, constant imagination. He does have a twisted sense of humor; "Polar Parliament" comes with a gift: a package of Kleenex with a similarly-sized photo of Asano inside the package. Not sure what the intended use is, but Asano's music is intended to inspire and challenge and center the listener in his world.

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