Bruno Meillier & Toshimaru Nakamura, Siphono (CD)

When I learned of this collaboration, I expected incongruous results.  I'm familiar with Meillier from his saxophone playing in the '80s with rock bands Les I and Etron Fou Leloublan, so I expected such extroversion.  Instead, 2000's Siphono is a textured electronic album, and a really good one, far more like Toshi Nakamura's work from this era than anything I'd hear from Meillier.  Toshi's albums range from incredibly sparse to rhythmic patterns.  Siphono includes both modes, evolving from tracks with a foundation of pulsing energy, including the 22 minute first track "Quick Quick Slow", to more open-ended pieces.  Strange and diverse sounds ride over the top of these patterns, and it's hard to tell if the sounds are electronic or organic in origin.  The packaging looks nice too, with a simple single-color design on nice card-stock that's folded and glued into a sleeve.