HUMI (Hugh Hopper & Yumi Hara Cawkwell) - Dune

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One thing you can never accuse Moonjune Records of is easy listening. And so it proves to be with this project, HUMI. HU is Hugh Hopper, erstwhile bass player with Soft Machine, a man who definitely enjoys being out there on the edge. YU is Yumi Hara Cawkwell, a former psychiatrist, who has relocated from Japan to London to become an experimental musician. Frying pan. Fire.

The first thing you need to know is that this bears no resemblance to Soft Machine. For this is predominately an excursion into improvisational, keyboard loops and samples, with minimalist bass and percussion. Now this is something Hopper has ran with before, as far back as the early seventies, and it seems to be something that keeps luring him back for further investigation. Cawkwell also contributes vocal effects which, at times, can be downright eerie and sinister.

There are a few more conventional moments where ears attuned to melody and structure will find something, anything, to grab on to, but they're not plentiful. Instead you find yourself wandering in the world of the avant-garde, where things can be scary and unsettling, although sometimes breathtakingly beautiful.

If you want to ease yourself in, try listening to 'Hopeful Impressions Of Happiness' or the more classically psychedelic 'Scattered Forest' first, then go back, sit yourself down, and prepare for an aural adventure.

:twisted :twisted :twisted 1/2 / 3.5 out of 5
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