Floating World Pictures is a collaboration between keyboardist Chestnutt, of East London art / music collective Snapped Ankles, and graphic artist / instrument builder, Raimund Wong, who works closely with young jazz labels, such as Lost Map, Total Refreshment Centre and International Anthem. Their debut LP, The Twenty-three Views, was released by Bristol shop / imprint Friendly Records a few years ago. They’ve now teamed with Jon “Ocean Moon” Tye for a follow-up on Lo Recordings.

The new release is spilt into two parts. The first is a suite, further divided into four, that reworks elements of their previous LP. The second, consisting of three more tracks, was captured in a single summer’s day at Tye’s studio, The Centre Of Sound, in Cornwall. Described in the press one-sheet as “loud ambient” taken sequentially the album is a definite trip. Beginning with birdsong and drones that buzz like swarming bees, the trio’s playing intuitively intertwines, painting scenes of sunshine and fields of green. An idyll free of the city’s bustle and steam. Tones are twisted into sitar / tanpura-like strains while chanted vocals recite a wordless, healing mantra. It’s very much the sort of score that L.A.’s Carlos Nino and his mates would come up with. Andre 3000’s New Blue Sun meets Alice Coltrane / Turiyasangitananda’s ecstatic devotionals.

The improvisations are full of field recordings, a veritable rainforest racket, where a cacophony of chattering, chirruping creatures serve as the source of treated textures, reimagined in ripples, roars, and rushes. Dovetailing in a deep listen designed to distract you from life outside. The sound of a stream segues into tiny temple tingsha tintabulations, and the song of a far away sax, before a hovering low end hum produces a hue the pitch of night. The synthetic strings and slow squelching rhythm of Hourglass Labyrinth cinematically suggest some unseen presence, and a plot with a dangerous, doomed, but redemptive arc. A line can be drawn from this tune in particular to Tye’s 1990s ambient techno outings as half of MLO. On Obelisk Rocks sequences softly spin backwards, and a snatch of reed is looped. Faded as if sampled from an old jazz 78, it dissolves in delay and fizz, surrounded by a ballet of bleeps. Live dub effects building in cumulative washes. Exploding in worlds of echo.

The set does sometimes swim into dark, unsettling waters. The subconscious can be a murky place. However, as it hits the climatic, Hearts Gates, we’re greeted by harmonies that mirror Iasos’ celestial new age angels and hint at heavenly harp-like glissando. Hypnotic, phased fanfares that sing like seductive siren calls. Switching off thought, promising peace, and perhaps summoning sleep. The cassette comes with the warning “Do Not Operate Heavy Machinery Whilst Listening.” Its warm waves working like reassuring whispers, putting positive voices inside your head.

Floating World Pictures with Ocean Moon can be ordered directly from Lo Recordings.