Parisian cinema composer Jean-Gabriel Becker and acclaimed Japanese multi-instrumentalist and composer Susumu Mukai have recorded a new album together as Becker & Mukai called Time Very Near.
The album is out tomorrow (April 3) via SaS Recordings, but you can hear the whole thing a day early above, exclusively through tQ.
With Becker’s list of past collaborators including Massive Attack and John Foxx, and Mukai’s featuring the likes of Vanishing Twin, Floating Points and Alexis Taylor, the record represents a quite considerable meeting of minds. Mukai is also the man behind cult leftfield and electronic act Zongamin.
The pair first teamed up in 2018 on the EP, Eyes, which was followed later that year by another, titled Auf Togo Meets Becker & Mukai.
Says Becker: "We worked very hard in the studio to keep a good balance between the improvised and experimental side of the Eyes EP and a more controlled and meticulous vision of production and writing. We had a great time experimenting with a constantly growing collection of instruments and effects and we feel like, as a result, the sound of the record has moved on a lot from our previous output. It was also great to let start inviting other musicians into our world, we really enjoyed it and want to do more of this in the future."
Susumu Mukai adds: "The album is a selection of some of the music that came out of our recording sessions in the last two, three years.There was no concept to the album, we didn’t plan what we wanted in advance. After making our first EP, ‘EYES’ we were curious what kind of album would come out if we carried on. In the end, it is an imaginary soundtrack to a world that grew out of our sessions".
