ELECTRONIC ELEMENTS

Let me say my impression at first; a fantastic jazzy-improvised-electronic creation seasoned with musical / atmospheric tranquilizing agents.

Ryoko ONO's solo album "Electronic Elements", featuring her electronic experiments produced with Music Instrument Digital Interface, released worldwide in 2014 via Janus Sounds. Such an album title like "Electronic" or "Elements" had let me curious indeed, and according to my expectation, her avantgarde electronic launcher could make me crazy. I've got, in her kindness, the second edition of this album, with a new track "Slut Or Slattem" and a longer "Sunset" added. Not pure nor fresh but sticky, slimy electronic vatting, that is felt simply awesome.

Here and there we would got flooded with unstable percussive digital bullets and mellotronic sound waves kicking us into an "uneasy trance" upon the second track "Tetragon". On the other hand, in "Slut Or Slattem" we can touch life and death mixed with pain, madness, depression, and at last quietness through her programmed synthesizer gales. What swims beneath "Depths Of The Sea" characterized with dry, swift, and inorganic digital percussion attacks? Difficult to make a definition but that reminds us of something obscure moving quickly along with randomized patterns, at least Ryoko's inner depths of the sea.

Upon "Sunset" are tribal texture, beautiful scape, and remarkable anxiety in the dark ... all of which be expressed with unsteady, rough, tough electronic percussion like a merry-go- round in an old amusement park. The last "Extra" is the compilation of her electronic elements blended with nobility, gorgeousness, scatter, manie, calmness, kaleidoscope, safe and sound. We can make sure that Ryoko should create such a electronic gem quite intensively through this epilogue.

At the same time I feel her saxophone play should be important also in this creation. "Ubiquitous" is a good example, where her enthusiastic saxophone play could drown electronic percussion perfectly out. By the way in the first one "Polygon" her play and the digital percussion killer can get superbly harmonized, crystallized. Another atmospheric departure between a surrealistic quiet electronic and a repetitive saxophone phrase can be experienced in "Ensemble". "Dual" is one of my favourite tracks in this album. Very enjoyable to imagine that Ryoko might play plenty of improvised saxophone phrases to beat electronic percussion completely. Her saxophone play is beautiful, flavourful as well, even if avantgarde or experimental. Wondering how she would record "Sunrise" based upon her crazy saxophone launcher merged perfectly with digital percussion. Very mysterious, and amazing really.

In conclusion, the woodwinds and their luxurious sounds cannot be avoided for Ryoko and us (her freaks) indeed but I'm sure she's left such an excellent solo creation for us. Enjoy such a kaleidoscopic agent.

Ryoko Ono is a sax/ flute player out of Japan who is also very much into electronics. She is one half of the SAX RUINS duo and has played with other experimental Japanese bands. I feel that I should have done more homework on this one as I saw it listed under Zeuhl here which moved me to pick this up and it has nothing to do with that sub-genre. This is Avant all the way and most of the songs are repetitive and experimental to say the least. I do like three of the tracks but struggle to enjoy the rest. You should really read Damo's review if your into Avant music because he describes the music here better than I will.

"Polygon" has these heavy beats and random sax expressions throughout while "Tetragon" features organ runs and percussion throughout. I prefer the latter but I'm not big on either. "Depths Of The Sea" has lots of beats throughout that I find it somewhat annoying and repetitive. "Dual" has more drums and beats with dissonant sax coming and going. "Unknown" is a top three. I like the atmosphere to start as sax expressions join in. This one's darker but then it changes before 3 minutes with electronics but they don't last long as the beats take over without sax this time. The electronics start to come and go then the sax returns after 6 minutes. Good song. "Ensemble" is another top three with those vocals that sound they have been processed through something as the sax, beats and electronics help out. Interesting and repetitive. "Sunrise" has these random screeching sax sounds and drums that are just as random as they both stop and go throughout.

"Slut Or Slattern" has what sounds like organ and strings that pulse and slice. Some electronics before 4 1/2 minutes. I do like the spacey calm late which is my favourite part of the album. "Sunset" has percussion and electronics throughout and it's laid back and ambient. Very repetitive as well. The tempo does pick up some around 5 1/2 minutes. "Ubiquitous" is my final top three track. We get sax, piano, bass and a beat as this sounds almost normal but it's not as the sax and piano are avant sounding. I do like it. "Extra" is the closer and it opens with strange electronics as the synths sweep in almost sounding PT-like. Not a fan when it changes before a minute with stuttering beats and electronics. Another change after 3 minutes as a beat and vibes-like sounds take over. Electronics to the fore before 4 minutes then keys as the drums continue. A calm before 5 1/2 minutes as guitar-like sounds and a beat take over. Beats blast again before 6 minutes, electronics too. More of those PT-like synths after 7 minutes. I like those sections.

A tough one for me to enjoy although I certainly appreciate what's going on here. 3.5 stars.