"But a venue full of strangers is a different environment from the sort of everyday domestic setting kankyō was meant to exalt and reassure, and likewise the lightning-in-a-bottle aspect of a live show differs from the reliability and sturdiness of installation music. If the music reacted with the venue, enhancing both the space and the emotional safety of the people within it, there's no evidence of that in what we hear."
"Sprague is best-known in her solo work for her use of modular synths, but here she performs on a polyphonic synth run through a substantial delay time. This setup allows Sprague to jam with herself, and means elements from earlier in an improvisation appear at a time Sprague might not necessarily anticipate, giving this music the lick of spontaneity she sought when she set out to Japan with no plan in mind."
Recordings capture performances in public venues but present an austere, interior sound lacking audible audience interaction or venue ambience. The music is recorded so dryly that it resembles a field recorder placed inside the instrument. Sprague performs on a polyphonic synth routed through long delay times, enabling self-jamming where earlier elements reappear unpredictably. Tracks evolve subtly yet travel significant distances within short runtimes, with moments like an idle pitch-bend in "Osaka" multiplying into wonkiness and "Tokyo 1" building from shimmer to a Stephen O'Malley-like growl. The overall effect is deeply solitary, evoking road-warrior interiority more than Japanese kankyō.
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