Fennesz

A special tip of the cap to Ryuichi Sakamoto. At a time when fellow artists are resting on their laurels of accomplishment, his refusal to become stagnant and pigeonholed is refreshing. Coming off a second successful collaboration with Carsten Nicolai for the Raster-Noton imprint, Sakamoto collaborates with glitch master/guitar guru Christian Fennesz on this woefully short EP, recorded in Italy for the Romaeuropa festival. The textures and interplay between the two blend so well it's hard to tell who the master architect is and who is following the architect's lead. The dark passages and ambient washes carry the improvisation to its natural conclusion, but not before passing through familiar Fennesz terrain of noises, glitches, and distorted phrases on guitar. For fans of both artists, Sala Santa Cecilia is a challenging listen that points toward the possibility of future Fennesz/Sakamoto collaborations, but at only 19 minutes in length, it's also a painful teaser for what might have been. ~ Rob Theakston, All Music Guide