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James Ferraro - Four Pieces For Mirai (no label, 2018)

James Ferraro released this EP as a prelude to a much larger project he's working on, supposedly due out in four releases this year. What was Ferraro's last "real" release? Human Story 3? I thought that one was pretty lame. It definitely sounds like he's onto something different here. Four Pieces For Mirai (in typical confusing Ferraro fashion, there are six tracks here...unless the four pieces are the four releases yet to come...who knows) is almost like a MIDI keyboard opera, mostly but not totally devoid of the Far Side Virtual sample-heavy stuff that marred Human Story 3...remember in Forgetting Sarah Marshall when Jason Segel's character is working on that vampire concept opera thing? I kind of get that vibe here. No doubt Ferraro is serious with this project, but that's just it, this is so deathly serious it's almost hard not to laugh, especially remembering what a, uh, jester Ferraro can be. Not sure what to make of it but as a prelude to something bigger I'm mildly intrigued.

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