The band-name Futari apparently means ‘two people' in Japanese, and it pairs the highly prolific Satoko Fujii on piano with the much younger and lesser-known vibraphonist Taiko Saito.

Their programme here is largely improvised, with some of the nine tracks having some thematic material. But mostly this is quiet, meditative and not overly percussive music, despite the instrumentation (in the press release, Fujii notes that, “We actually recorded some aggressive pieces, but we ended up using the quiet ones… because we loved the feeling”).

The title track, for instance, is one of the most spacious items, while ‘Ame No Ato' begins and ends in 3/4 with the central section in a more animated 4/4, but both sections making inventive use of the whole-tone scale. By contrast, ‘Todokanai Tegami' uses a prepared piano and the vibes keys being stroked with a double-bass bow, while the long ‘Mobius Loop' has Fujii playing (extremely quietly) inside the piano for over 100 seconds before she strikes the first conventional note. Absorbing and frequently compelling music.