"Signals Bulletin is an authentically human work, with the Japanese member manning the instruments whilst Jelinek pilots the machines"
Occupying the parallax between Berlin and Kanazawa, Jan Jelinek and Asuna set their sights on far-off stars, creating over the course of a three year period bright, celestial works whilst remaining thoroughly grounded in deeply human production.
Jan Jelinek scarcely needs introduction; ‘Loop-Finding Jazz Records’ set a benchmark and a folded corner in the book on ambient production. The Berlin-based artist, not resting on his laurels, has developed his stirring, dusty style of ambience across numerous lauded LP’s and remains essential listening.
Asuna you may have missed. But, with a number of lengthy releases – a large handful of which through Chihei Hatakeyama’s excellent White Paddy Mountain Label – he’s certainly worth the time invested in listening to his music. As with Jelinek, he has a distinctive style, which is observable both in his numerous solo outings and his collaborative works.
Both demonstrate within their ability to produce top tier music, both as an individual and as part of unique alliances with other artists; their Discogs profiles are rife with ampersands, ‘+’ signs and “featuring”.
"The music begs to be compared to the interstellar: vacuous humming and ship-engine drone meets coruscating arpeggios, outlining far-off stars and passing comets"
On ‘Signals Bulletin’, the duo have certainly struck a common chord; Jelinek’s whirring, fogged-up sounds set the bedrock for Asuna’s dragged out drones, pulled out of reed organs and old keyboards with the application of adhesive tape to sustain the notes.
The finale, “Blinking of Countless Lines”, is a perfect demonstration of artists in unity with one another, with moments of astonishing beauty as they hold a key together for a moment, then sliding interdependently towards the next harmony. The music begs to be compared to the interstellar: vacuous humming and ship-engine drone meets coruscating arpeggios, outlining far-off stars and passing comets.
“Pulsating Primary Structure” contains just in the name all that is needed to conjure the image of a ship wondering the lonely highways circumnavigating a supernova. The music itself sinks deeper into the metaphor, with stuttering, propellant bass engines and shimmering electric diodes.
‘Signals Bulletin‘ is an authentically human work, with the Japanese member manning the instruments whilst Jelinek pilots the machines. The artwork (a mish-mash of ASUNA’s own doodles) is a considered touch that grounds this release to its home on Earth, despite the music therein striving for the stars.
‘Signals Bulletin’ LP is scheduled for release 5 April 2019 in vinyl and digital formats. Order a copy from Boomkat.
TRACKLIST
1. Relief, Pt.1
2. Pulsating Primary Structure
3. Fountain
4. How A Spiral Works
5. Blinking Of Countless Lines
Discover more about Asuna, Jan Jelinek and Faitiche on Inverted Audio.