I say eleven tracks, but you might be hard pressed to point out clear divisions: ‘Burmese Days’ is a collage of a record. Aided by Berndt Thurner (‘original burmese metallophones’) and dieb 13 (‘additional electronics/turntables’), Kutin constructs a dream-like narrative using field recordings - some of which might be processed, its not completely clear. A case in point, is the very start of the record; simply called ‘The Sound Of Insects’, the first track features rattling noises which certainly sound processed, but - given the terrifying array of wildlife sounds on this planet - most probably aren’t. The record’s grooves then take us through a forest and into the gong-like tones of metallophones; blending with droning insect chirrups. These shifts are effortless and feel non-forced - indeed, the whole record passes through the ears very smoothly: its a very listenable album. The first side comes to a close with monsoon rains and wind, eerie drones and buried voices.

The second side continues in a similar vein, even breaking down into a very quiet drone at one point - only to explode effectively into a hubbub of voices and train sounds. Around this section some synthy ‘pad’-type tones appear, and whilst they work well, combined with the field recordings they do raise the spectre of old-school ambient records - The KLF’s ‘Chill Out’, for example. The entire second side feels oddly more ‘conventional’ in terms of field-recording and its content, but at the same time has two long droning sections - the aforementioned quiet drone and the possibly metallophone-powered drone that closes the record. The overall effect is a more laid back, muted side of vinyl; but just as digestible as its counterpart.

This is a really great record, a rejoinder to the somewhat stuffy field-recording albums that I’ve crossed paths with of recent. It layers recordings, embellishes them with musicians, even processes them - rather than obsessing over the fallacy of some ‘transparent’ representation of an environment, it constructs a more impressionist sound-poem to the people, wildlife and places that Kutin has visited: ending up with a record that has nestled quite happily on my turntable. The record does have a dream-like quality, and on a technical level, moves with great ease between passages. Definitely a recommended release on Gruenrekorder!