Latest CD releases reviewed

SUSUMU YOKOTA

Mother Lo Recordings ***

Veteran Japanese producer Susumu Yokota has always been a prolific fellow swinging from one sound to the next with gay abandon. Yokota is at his best, though, when he's in slow-motion ambient mode and sketching atmospheric skyscrapers and sonic cathedrals. These textures form the basis of Mother, on which guest vocalists fill out a bunch of ethereal, soft-shuffle songs. Yokota has worked with Caroline Ross before and probably knows that her hushed, pure tones are perfect for The Natural Process. Elsewhere, vocalists such as Nancy Elizabeth, Efterklang's Casper Clausen and Our Broken Garden's Anna Brønsted coo away to their hearts' content. There are moments when it threatens to turn into an Enya tribute album, but Yokota has enough gumption to know exactly when to turn on and off the special effects. www.susumuyokota.org

Download tracks: The Natural Process, A Ray Of Light

JIM CARROLL