Squidco: Saito, Naoko: The Moon In Diffuse Reflection

The Moon In Diffuse Reflection

aJapanese alto-saxophonist Naoko Saito living in New York City presents a full solo effort, shaping airy subtones, soft breath, and tentative melodic fragments into a ghostly, introspective soundscape - a contemplative and quietly expressive improvisational voice that marks her emergence as a distinctive new presence on the Deathrash Armageddon roster.

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Product Information:

Personnel:

Naoko Saito-alto saxophone

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Label: Armageddon Nova
Catalog ID: AN-R 11
Squidco Product Code: 36995

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2025
Country: Japan
Packaging: Jewel Case
Recorded at Studio Penta Shibuya Cityside, in Shibuya, Japan, on September 10th, 2025.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

With The Moon In Diffuse Reflection, Naoko Saito steps forward from her promising appearance on a compilation into full solo light - a delicate, introspective alto-saxophone statement that quietly but confidently stakes her claim. There's nothing aggressive here: instead of skronk or overt noise, Saito uses subtlety - airy subtones, soft bends, wispy breath, and bittersweet melodic fragments - to craft an improvisational sound world of calm tension, lyrical ambiguity, and emotional immediacy. The music seems to hover between meditation and memory, balancing lyrical softness with the unpredictability of free improvisation. The result is an intimate, haunting record that feels deeply personal: a hidden inner world given voice.

Artist Biographies

• Show Bio for Naoko Saito

Naoko Saito, 齋藤直子, is a Japanese saxophonist.

-Squidco 12/3/2025

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Track Listing:

1. Travelling Back And Forth 19:15

2. Reflected Voice 14:00

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