Stone Bell opens to the earthy yet effortless voice of
Nego Elias on
When You Come. Originally intended for a composition by fellow Brazilian
C Dala, the Portuguese vocals
* sound equally at home in this setting where a unison melody line on the bass, acoustic guitar and synth raises the excitement levels in the chorus. Rushing along at a breakneck bpm
Casting Off threatens to get torn apart by its own inertia, but conversely ends up chilling in a most unexpected and satisfying way. After a harmonious dismount courtesy of Chinese
jinghu, we're off to
Faraway Places where eminently danceable beats collide with Japanese
shamisen and male vocals in the
Esashi Oiwake style of Hokkaido island. We're firmly in deep-house territory on
Undecided. A
suona calls out a single sustained note shofar-like as if from a mountain top.
Erhu melodies are picked up, chopped, dropped, and picked up again to be echoed on the electric piano.
Invocation opens with a tribal feel thanks to Japanese hira-daiko,
shime-daiko. and
shakuhachi. The track soon blossoms as the first shakuhachi is joined by a second in airy harmony and more of the Esashi Oiwake male vocals, this time drawn out like molasses to the point of digital rupture. Finally, it's time to lower the heart-rate with
Waterless Well. We're led in this dubby meditation by the
shomyo chanting of a Buddhist monk, interspersed with a
koto melody that resonates down the centuries.
