Kompakt have some really good artists at the ambient end of the spectrum, which is where Hiroshi Watanabe – aka Kaito – can be found with his latest release. This is because ‘Less Time Until The End’ is actually a beatless version of ‘Until The End Of Time’, and some rather beautiful textures can be brought to the fore in the name of meditation. It reveals Watanabe’s music to have a lot of inner workings, and these come through really nicely on ‘Sky Is The Limit’, which keeps the energy of the original version, while intricate loops build in tracks like ‘Run Through The Road In The Fog’ too. ‘Inner Space’ was the pick for me, a track that could easily have gone on for an hour without testing the patience, but the whole album hangs rather nicely by a thread. Drums are missed at times, but the overall effect is blissful. A lovely stress-buster.
4 out of 5
Reviewed By Ben Hogwood
