Ain Soph - Hat And Field [1986]

Another great progressive rock album that came from a Japanese outfit in the 80's.
Ain Soph play instrumental progressive rock with a lot of canterbury influences such as National Health, Gilgamesh and even Camel (Rain Dances era.) This album as the title says brings some Hatfield & The North in mind but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.
It took 6 years for Ain Soph to finally record this amazing follow-up to their equally amazing debut album. The playing is superb: not only each individual is a top-notch master on their instrument, but also they can interpleay with immaculate fluency through all these complex time signatures and complicated compositions, keeping an aura of delicate sophistication, as if it were actually an easy task to do. The moments in which Yozox and Fujikawa lay their challenging interplays are executed with infinite finesse.. As in their previous album, the appearance of some exotic lines reminds the listener of their Japanese essence: their jazzy prog is not a clone, but the result of an inventively idiosyncratic recreation of an established pattern.
Lovers of Canterbury and the best 70s jazz-fusion will most likely love this one too, and eventually, discover the particular beauty of Ain Soph's own jazz-prog voice.

Studio Album, released in 1986

Songs / Tracks Listing
1. The Swan Lake (5:45)
2. Little pieces part 1 (1:34)
3. Suite: Hat and field: (10:02)
a) Triple echo
b) Hat & field
c) Deep feelin'
d) Triple end
e) Spanish channel
4. Mizzle (3:41)
5. Canterbury tale (for Pye Hastings & Richard Sinclair) (2:57)
6. Magic carpet (6:57)
7. Little pieces part 2 (2:31)
8. Pipe dream (7:53)

Total Time: 41:20

Line-up / Musicians - Yozox / guitars
- Kikuo Fujikawa / keyboards
- Masahiro Torigaki / bass
- Taiqui Tomiie / drums

Enjoy it

Listen to Suite: Hat & Field