It's impossible not to think of the term "supergroup" here, though that of course carries both positive and negative connotations. Ambarchi (guitar), O'Rourke (piano) and Haino (flute, drum machine, electronics) have all created or appeared on any number of seminal recordings in the avant/electronic/experimental improvisation field over the past 20 or more years. Whether they're able to comprise a coherent and worthwhile trio is another question, one not definitively answered here.

There are three tracks in this live recording from November, 2009, two longer ones sandwiching a brief cut that really only serves as a divider of sorts. On the first, it seems like Ambarchi sets the tone with the sort of smooth yet complex drones of which he's fond. O'Rourke, here and almost entirely throughout, seems to reside inside the piano, bowing or e-bowing, contributing to the dronage. It's a bit eerie, yes, and reasonably attractive but essentially nothing we haven't heard many times before. About 12 minutes in, Haino emerges vocally, his ghostlike yowls adding to the drone, fluttering around it. It helps, but one can't help but feel as though experiencing the electronic version of noodling that comprised many a rock supergroup's undoing.

The third track begins in the same area — low moans, barren, throbbing electronics — but there's a crackle of ozone in the atmosphere that becomes overt when Haino introduces first his flute, then the drum machine (sounding not nearly as mechanical as one might fear). These quasi-rhythms not only generate some visceral excitement on their own, but seem to spur Ambarchi and O'Rourke into headier realms, the trio finally congealing into something larger than its parts. It expands wonderfully and when O'Rourke finally gets to the keyboard, for a few delicate, well-placed chords, the effect is melancholy and lovely. It's a strong piece, whetting one's appetite for what might be possible if this trio continues.