Ljudbilden & Piloten / Kama Aina: Split
Nosordo

How to turn a two-track single into something special? By issuing it in a white vinyl format and by hand-writing the purchaser's name and address on the cover of each of the 300 mail-order only copies, that's how. Nosordo does exactly that on this latest split release by Ljudbilden & Piloten (Kristofer Ström) and Kama Aina (Tokyo-based Takuji Aoyagi). The former's “Cittra” wends a peaceful path, with a simple yet stately theme gracefully voiced over a sparse acoustic base. Joined by Douglas Holquist on vibraphonette, Ström shapes a large array of conventional and unusual instruments (guitar, bass, trumpet, plus zither, glass, an egg slicer, and, apparently, his dog Elmo) into a gently swaying idyll. Clearly a natural complement to Ström, Aoyagi also establishes a lightly swinging acoustic base in “Hotaru” and then weaves a richly layered mass of bells, mandolin, tambora, xylophone, Spanish guitar, and piano over top.

January 2007