STEVE JANSEN
The Space BetweenSTEVEJANSEN.BANDCAMP.COM
Captivating instrumental intrigue from erstwhile Japan man.
It’s somehow 46 years since Japan first released Life In Tokyo, and like all ex-members of that elegantly epochal band, Steve Jansen has long since moved on to an admirable career of new creations. This remarkable instrumental work, however, is born of an unabating fascination with the Japanese capital, a metropolis of singular, distinctive atmosphere. The Space Between was originally conceived as a sound installation to accompany Jansen’s photography exhibition there earlier this year, where he displayed shots of the Shibuya area. Artfully combining found sounds – the shuffles, rumbles and reverberations of central Tokyo – with a master musician’s gift for subtle harmonious underlays and rhythmic invention, it’s an audio journey that places the listener both in its specific primary setting and in a dream-like, secondary dimension.