Tomo
San Francisco-based electronic artist with IDM leanings. Tomo mixes composition and improvisation; a lot of the tracks feel less like songs and more like suites. When the process works, the result is really remarkable. All the tracks except 3 and 4 are quite good; 5 and 9 are exceptional.

Reviewed 10/12/2004 by Shivaram.

1. * Bells, chimes, a bit of crunch. Playful, elegant.
2. * Starts with an angular synthesizer bounce (reminded me of Erase Errata, of all things). Breaks down to a peaceful beat and melody, with shimmering high trills.
3. High-pitched, chime-y noodlings. Syncopated beat and synthesizer hums. Around 2:00 a melody pops out. Drags a little.
4. Clicks, a happy little melody. Unimpressive.
5. ** A six-minute dance suite. Bass-driven throughout with great percussion. Great transitions; the part after 3:00, where he adds tiny snatches of voice, is especially nice. It’s the Nutcracker for the 21st century.
6. * Instantly attractive, highly catchy almost-rock. Fragments into improvisation, then joins up again for a stately close.
7. * Funky synthesizer growl. Syncopation, more improvisation. Jumbled and mismatched, but good.
8. * Slow, pulsing beat. A restrained, minimal guitar part; very relaxing. Breaks into a full melody at 2:15; this track has a real Asian pop sensibility. Breaks up, then reforms, with the guitar playing at wider and wider intervals until the end.
9. ** A harsh, intriguing blend, more recognizably IDM than the other tracks. Fascinating mix of melody and percussion. Scattershot sounds fade out to beeping.
10. * Video-game-ish, mellow closer. Fairly conventional, except for some very Tomo-sounding vibraphone improvisations. A great way to end; worth a look.