Ozato Record / Japan / 2025
* Minor wear in corner.
Japanese duo Torso’s latest release on their Ozato label delivers a refreshing, immersive take on contemporary classical music, blending cello, flute, and tape in unexpected ways. Their sound—featuring bowed strings, airy flutes, and warm reed tones—borrows from indie-pop sensibilities and the nostalgic charm of 1980s café music. The result is a minimalist yet richly textured style reminiscent of Arthur Russell and Penguin Cafe Orchestra. By blurring genre lines and rejecting traditional musical hierarchies, Torso crafts compositions that are both captivating and unpretentious—refined and inventive without ever feeling self-serious.