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Maju - Maju 4 [Extreme - 2006]

Maju is the duo of Tokyo's Sakana Hosomi and Masaki Narita, and this release is not surprisingly their fourth release. The inner CD tray tells us that Maju is Japanese for cocoon. The name suggests that this is ambient music which is intended to create an insular space or "cocoon" for the listener to inhabit.

Maju have attempted to create a mood by employing a common technique throughout its 60 plus minute length. The music is in many ways similar to early glitch music along the lines of Oval, with the addition of manipulated found sounds, guitars and keyboards layered on top. Though an occasional recognizable sound is evident, most of the elements are heavily digitally processed to the point of oblivion.

The combination of sounds is intriguing at first; however, many of the tracks don't build or go in any particular direction. There are exceptions, particularly 93, which includes a granulated bed of sounds over a deep background drone, and hktm, one of the only tracks which hints at melody, played over a more prevalent and interesting drone.

Finally, the eleven minute long osk is the best track on the album. It begins with the same glitchy sound-field found elsewhere, and then adds beeps and percussive clanks which change things up a bit.

Maju-4 is pleasant enough if listened to as background noise, but becomes frustrating when listened to attentively. There is not enough variation to keep interest, and the glitchy atmosphere sounds remarkably out of date for a recent release. It may be argued that ambient music is intended to be in the
background, but over time artists like Biosphere, Thomas Koner and John Duncan have shown us that soundscapes can be immersive and enthralling, even upon close inspection.

Rating: 2 out of 5Rating: 2 out of 5Rating: 2 out of 5Rating: 2 out of 5Rating: 2 out of 5

Erwin Michelfelder
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