Many have already called this trio an experimental supergroup, and if this were a conscious collaborative studio release, I'd be inclined to agree. "Timo Formosa" is not that kind of project, though, instead it is a recording of a live improvisation by three of the avant-garde's brightest stars recorded in 2009 in Japan. This is more of a superpower summit than it is a supergroup. As with all such summits though, a satisfactory result is not necessarily a done deal. There is many an album collection littered with experimental pairings that sounded amazing on paper, but less so when it came time to deliver the goods. More than a few times listeners have been left with a muddled drone that includes a noisy section just to give the impression that somebody did something other than set their laptop on autopilot.
Thankfully, "Timo Formosa" is not one of those albums. It isn't anything revelatory necessarily, but it is a solid piece of improvisation that complements everyone involved. Broken into three pieces, the album is an exercise in restraint and an example of what happens when three musical geniuses, whose respective resumes contains a history of successful collaborations, have reached a point in their careers where playing well with others comes naturally.
The first piece beings with a mid-range drone beset by Ambarchi's distinctive tones and percussive effects played out on strings, cymbals, bells and what sounds like chains at one point. Haino's harrowing voice eventually enters into the frame, but only inasmuch as another effect added to the soundscape. What makes the performance so effective is that there is a ton going on between Ambarchi, O'Rourke and Haino, but not one of the performers overtakes the others and the music itself remains subdued, drawing the listener in to discover the incredibly rich field of sound these guys create. Toward the end, the percussive effects drop out and Haino steps to the foreground while O'Rourke's pulsating drone and Ambarchi's tones increase their volume before it all collides and then gently subsides. The effect of everyone's personality finally coming to the fore only adds to the piece by creating a depth of field and separation that previously had not existed. Even with each musician's contributions clearly shining through, the group sounds in tune with one other, with an equal give and take creating a real collaboration; the kind that does sounds like something you expect from such a supergroup, and something that so few of these kind of experiments produce.
The second piece is the shortest and features Haino's ghostly vocals over a steadily oscillating drone by Ambarchi and a disquieting piano motif by O'Rourke that sounds somewhat like icicles forming. It's the most immediately striking and straightforward of the works, and is served well by the short play time.
The third and final offering is the most challenging, as well as the noisiest. The first third of the thirty minute piece is reminiscent of famed Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu's work, who combined traditional Japanese music with avant garde composition influenced by John Cage. Shrill spectral whistles, scraped and plucked strings, atonal piano and arrhythmic percussion marks the foreground, while a steady pulsating drone lurks below the surface. The piece takes a turn when the drone comes to the foreground and the percussion falls into a consistent frantic rhythm. As the piece progresses, Haino reemerges with a perfectly timed processed scream that once again only adds to the strength of the music. Electronic effects, bowed cymbals and pulsating percussion start to pile up making for some of the most superbly executed and controlled chaos that has been heard in a while. The piece ends with the most haunting and beautiful passage on the album. Single piano chords play over receding drones and either bowed percussion or effects that give the impression of a leviathan submerging into the depths of the darkest corners of the ocean.
What could have been a phoned-in performance by three giants who don't really need yet another excellent collab under their belt to maintain their credibility, ends up being a dynamic and exhilarating performance, the likes of which are rare among experimental improvisation releases. That night in Japan in 2009 was an avant superpower summit to say the least, and one that lived up to its promise. Thankfully we are left with a recorded document of that powerful meeting of minds and talent.
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