Otomo Yoshihide, Shinpei Ruike

"Ramune and the Power Plant" is the first duo album by Otomo Yoshihide and Ruike Shinpei, who have performed together many times in groups such as ONJQ. This recording captures almost the entire completely improvised live set held in October 2024 at the café-music gallery Kakululu in Ikebukuro. In this project Otomo primarily uses turntables as his main instrument and, on some tracks, electric guitar; Ruike plays trumpet as his primary instrument and employs electronics on certain pieces.

Recording and mixing were handled by Shigeki Nakamura, who has worked on many of Otomo's projects. The album jacket uses a work by abstract sculptor Niko Ito, who — like Ruike — is from Hachinohe; the title lettering is composed by designer Yuu Sasaki from characters Niko Ito wrote during her lifetime. This release marks a new step for Ruike, who is attracting attention not only in Japan’s jazz scene but also in European and Asian improvisation circles, and for Otomo, who continues to explore contemporary creative practice by connecting diverse cultures around improvisation.