"An ultra mysterious blast from the deepest underground! Iro were (and still are) a little-known shamanic improvisation unit, consisting of Kawasaki-based husband and wife Shizuko and Toshio Orimo. Formed in 1981, they released a number of cassette-only albums during the '80s. Deeply suspicious of the merest whiff of commercialism, they never took the opportunities for greater fame -- in spite of some substantial media coverage in Japan at the time. The duo still perform today, in a more ethnic, esoteric ritual mode. Tamafuri was originally released on cassette on their own Shaman Label in 1985. It's a fantastically charged blend of ultra-propulsive ethnic drone, free jazz drumming with harsh noise textures and intense, almost possessed vocal incantations from Shizuko. As Takeo Udagawa puts it, 'their high-energy improvisations feel intensely dangerous, like a nuclear reactor-core going into meltdown, throwing out waves of radiation and intense heat.' A must for any true believer in the power of wailing blurt -- from Keiji Haino, to LAFMS, to Takayanagi. Comes with great contextual liner notes (in Japanese and English) by fringe music researcher Takeo Udagawa. And, yes, Shizuko and Toshio are indeed the parents of young shakuhachi sensation, Sabu Orimo. -- Alan Cummings."

PSF, 2008