As a progressive artist, Japanese trumpeter Toshinori Kondo has had few peers, and his work as a creative improviser has been hailed worldwide. What people might not have suspected is that he, like most, is also influenced by the Bitches Brew and beyond period of Miles Davis. Nerve Tripper is just that, an electronic excursion into the void where only the brave search and seek out new notes, nuance, and a black hole or wormhole to find a different musical universe. Kondo does virtually all the playing, on electric horn and programming, including space odyssey synthesizers, beat patterns, and samples. Basic elements take a back seat to layered, dense, and intricate forms, with many twists. Rock and funk identify Lonely Way, an echoed interactive jam vehicle, while the opposite end of the spectrum on Insane Moon Moves Innocent Man is a liquid, spacy funk trip on the Orient Express, while Eternal Quest features Kondo's subtle and mysterious ethnic synthesized horns, recalling his other parallel trumpet influence, Jon Hassell. Earthquake Island indeed! The voodoo is down à la latter-period Miles for Open the Gate, trippy for sure and very techno, while industrial sounds and the beat drive Attaining the Esoteric Life. The track that stands apart from the rest is Savage Satellite, as Kondo employs a wah-wah trumpet style juxtaposed against a minimalist computer-generated organ sample that reflects Philip Glass from his North Star days. There are two tracks where DJ Sahib helps on turntables -- the aforementioned Open the Gate and the dance groove Where You Appear, with platter-derived bass and drums, complemented with a stunning percussive overlay. It needs to be heard in the dancehalls. Kondo has achieved something special on this deliciously wild session, finding a unique contemporary identity on what is a nothing less than an amazing recording. ~ Michael G. Nastos, Rovi

1		Open the Gate
2		Lonely Way
3		Insane Moon Moves Innocent Man
4		Savage Satellite
5		Where You Appear
6		Dream Vibrates with Space
7		Attaining the Esoteric Life
8		Eternal Quest

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