Ami Yoshida

The long-awaited solo album of amazing 'howling voice' performer Ami Yoshida is finally here. It's hard to believe Yoshida's sounds, with their myriad nuances, are those of a human voice -- they could easily be mistaken for minute digital noises. Over the past several years, this artist's work -- including projects with Yoshihide Otomo (guitar, turntable); and the duos Cosmos, with Sachiko M (sinewaves), and Astro Twin, with Utah Kawasaki (analog synthesizer) -- has garnered considerable attention on the improvised music scene both inside and outside Japan. Her 1997 release Spiritual Voice was a collaboration with the CD's producer, Tamaru (bass guitar, effects), so this is essentially Yoshida's first solo album. Consisting of 99 tracks, Tiger Thrush is a compendium of her extraordinary vocal powers. In her own words, it's 'like a pictorial dictionary, arranged by category, of the sounds [she is] currently able to produce'.