A curious set of "small music" exchanges between these two purveyors of all sounds tubular. Compressed air from distinct sources gradually becomes fluttery, then high-pitched whistlings add up and build into tiny melodic fragments. And that's just the first 3 minutes. Popping insectile exchanges give way to slip-sliding chicanery and weird off-mic asides. Some build up and let down, but no waning of invention or flow. The second piece, "Griesel" (precipitation in the form of small rice grains), begins with tones that sound like they came from far away in time and then levels off into granular shifts. Another tone, a pop, what sounds like a snare drum click. Notes and membranes introduce puffs of flavored air and some buzzing timbre. A helicopter. Shutters flapping in the wind. Fog horns and arc welder, or is it something metallic turning? Sweaty hands on a Naugahyde cushion accompany long tones in a feint of nonchalance. Spittle endings and eventual flatulence. The "radio, speaker and objects listed as part of Ulher's kit are used quite sparingly this time out, hues added to an abundant wash. A snatch of orchestral music, some birdsong (or wait, is that real?) Percussive assemblages congeal and splinter.

Recorded in Ulher's flat in Hamburg, this disc allows us to peek in (if ears can peek) to an afternoon of quiet, concentrated improvising by two dedicated and skilled brass manipulators. The range of sounds, timbres and approaches applied to breath moving through tubes is wider than imagined, and the interaction is akin to an intimate conversation between two friends. Surprising and inventive.