Minamo is a four piece from Tokyo (yeah, Japan apparently...). Founded by Tetsuro Yasunaga (computers and electronics – he has worked with Toshimaru Nakamura and Ami Yoshida) and Keiichi Sugimoto  (guitar and computer, plays in Fonica –review here), Minamo has already released two albums and incorporated various guests as well as two permanent members, Yuichiro Iwashita (guitars) and Namiko Sasamoto (keyboards and sax). Their third album (first for Apestaartje) is named Beautiful. Short, but to the point... And you can’t accuse them of bragging: it really is beautiful...

What is maybe the most surprising thing when you listen to the CD is that it actually is a compilation of live improvisations recordings... The intricate mix of the elements and the complexity of the “arrangements” are much more likely to make you think of a carefully conceived studio work. Beyond these considerations, there is the actual sounds...

We have here music pieces building up very gradually: soft electronic buzz, a bit of guitar here and there before a more “coherent” theme unfold. The guitar is quite reminiscent of Fonica (remember, Sugimoto’s other project...) but light drones are used quite regurlarly. More often than not, Sasamoto crafts superb soundscapes on her keyboards and makes of Beautiful a records that has a lot to do with nature: you will hear a springtime walk in the countryside, threatened by a thunderstorm a few kilometres away midway through it before only a light rainfall refreshes the atmosphere.

So many albums are for the “stations before and after sleep”.  To me Beautiful is perfect when lying on the couch when day and night are crossing paths (sorry for the lame “poetry”) or when you decide to go in the garden and lie in the morning dew as the sun rises after a night without sleep. Lame, I know... But so true... So true.