Hui-Chun Lin / Masahiko Ueji - Fat Cat And Drunk Mouse In Zero Gravity [Aut Records 136]

Put out on the circuit via the ever active Aut Records label on October 1st, 2k25 is "Fat Cat And Drunk Mouse In Zero Gravity", the second collaborational album crafted by Hui-Chun Lin and Masahiko Ueji which is released a decade after their 2015 debut suitably called "Fat Cat And Drunk Mouse". With their sophomore longplayer catering a menu of twelve brand new pieces over the course of roughly 76 minutes, sporting titles like the ingenious "A Small Step For A Fat Cat, A Giant Leap For A Drunk Mouse", "Rondo Of The Gas Giant", "The Wow! Signal (Detected In 1977)" and other more or less space related themes we see the two musicians combine their respective instruments, cello and piano, in sometimes quite unexpected, yet rather uplifting ways with the almost ecstatic and wildly spiralling "A Treacherous Trip" seemingly using plucked cello strings as a rhythmic foundation in its intro sequence whereas the "Red Star Club" brings forth more of a rural, yet also seemingly formal influence probably harking back to ancient dancefloors of yore, the playful and oftentimes tongue-in-cheek "The Fake Space Shuttle Got Stolen" even evokes memories of faux cat and mouse chases on display in classical animation films whilst "A Small Step For A Fat Cat, A Giant Leap For A Drunk Mouse" seems to indulge in deep melancholia and therefore provides a sweet haven of calm thought and meditation even though its piano lines keep racing, followed by the entire composition later down the line. Furthermore "Gagarin Shows The Signal And The Position Of Our Predator" dives even deeper into sweet late night melancholia from the start, the "Rondo Of The Gas Giant" seemingly draws inspiration from Classical compositional forms, Jazz and a grain of mediterranean drama before serving cascading waves of interwined piano lines in correspondance with Lin's emotional string works whilst "The First Vodka Outside The Solar System" turns out to be a rather nervous and unstable affair backed by whirling drones and a certain lack of structural stability which, luckily, doesn't matter too much in a zero gravity setting just to name a few. If you're rather intrigued by the title and Improv-leaning Jazz as well as Free Improv are a part of your musical comfort zone go ahead and check this out!