Oren Ambarchi : Guitar, Synth, Percussion
Jim O'Rourke : Strings, Synth, Percussion
Recorded & Mixed at Steamroom, Tokyo, Jan 2011
Cut at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin, May 2011
Photographs by Shunichiro Okada
Design by Takashi Site
While Oren Ambarchi and Jim O’Rourke have collaborated in a number of forms, from remixes to their acclaimed trio with Keiji Haino, Indeed is their first duo album. One long electro-acoustic exploration (presented here as two side-long pieces), what Ambarchi and O’Rourke proffer up here is also melodic and approachable, bringing to mind the warm post-minimalism of composers like Alvin Curran, David Behrman and Luciano Cilio. Indeed, it sounds a bit like the collective textural and melodic personality of their respective solo albums filtered through the highpoints of the Lovely Music catalogue.
Beginning with a sequence of analogue electro-acoustic crunch before settling into a warm synth glow highlighted by the occasional melodic or percussive detail, it sounds like the music that two guys who have honed their skills through years of composition, pop songwriting and rigorous improvisation make when they’re having fun in the studio.
(Francis Plagne)