Seasoned experimenteurs Che Chen and Tetuzi Akiyama combine forces to forge a smoldering heap of raw sonic energy entitled Cold Soup. Tetuzi, a seasoned experimental guitarist who has collaborated with the likes of Keijo Haino and Toshimaru Nakamura, here brings a seemingly endless stream of psychedelic guitar riffs that wiggle and shake with a loose, carefree energy and a heavy amount of characteristic distortion. Che Chen meets him halfway with amplified fiddle that churns broad, yawning drones and titilating strings, creating an expansive sonic space for Tetuzi to frolic and romp with abandon. The dialogue between these two seasoned improvisators forments a growing tension, like a dark storm on the distant horizon, threatening to break at any moment. Together they carry the listener to dizzying heights one moment, and then crash down to dark, foreboding lows the next. The sound always flirts with the edge of a complete breakdown into pure noise, but somehow always pulls back from the brink at the last possible moment, only to take you through their aural rollercoaster ride once more, in varying shades. Overall, a stimulating journey through simulated psychosis that’ll leave you looking for the replay button. You can buy it here off Incunabulum Records.