BLUE LIMBO

This is without a doubt my very favorite Hirasawa album. It is the perfect culmination of Hirasawa's signature style of symphonic/orchestral electronica; the best known track Ride The Blue Limbo is a perfect anatomical example of the album's feel and instrumentation. What puts Hirasawa's work that combines ethnic and physical instruments with electronic programming so far ahead of others in the same field of experimentation is that he can flawlessly incorporate them together, not simply overlay styles and instruments on top of one another, seemingly organic in composition. This prospect shows remarkable results in Blue Limbo, such as Grandfatherly Wind, which makes great use of a choir as yet another instrument. Other tracks take on a more 'earthly' tone, such as The Silent Gate Of TsiolkovskyI Crater where he sings with a heavy breath over various string instruments and programming, or Limbo-54, one of his few instrumentals, which just captures your attention within seconds and takes you to some new atmosphere that only he can take you. There are also other higher tempo tracks such as The Sniper which uses similar guitar mixing techniques as the title track, and Sailing Ship 108, a song that is highlighted by Hirasawa's wonderful operatic voice. My favorite pieces from the album would have to be the title track, Cambodian Limbo, and Halo, though I can't say there is one weak track amongst them. I listen to a lot of experimental music such as Andrew Liles, Aube, and others, but I have to say that Hirasawa is FAR more progressive in his musical efforts, and doesn't get near enough credit for his work, it's a downright shame. Also, if you do find you enjoy this album, be sure to buy from susumuhirasawa dot com 'Nano-Duplication Memorials' mp3 album, which consists of various re-workings of this album's songs (plus some more surprises, very worth hearing, almost as good as the original album as in it he continues to push the limits of his amazing creativity).