*2023 stock* Limted 2022 restock, last copies. Originally released in 2006. Tetuzi Akiyama has been a major player on the free music/improv scene in Tokyo for over 20 years. Pre-Existence first came out on CD as a part of the great Wooden Guitar series from Locust. Akiyama's playing here is one of a minimalist approach, discovering and investigating the empty spaces between each note. He does not follow the Takoma guitar school style of finger-picking, but instead invokes a far more warped primitive country blues feel with a meditative quality. You never know where you are going to be led with his guitar, down roads rarely travelled. With his dense tapestry of sounds, Akiyama evokes emotions that at times are uncomfortable, but are of real beauty. Open your ears and let the music take you far, far out there.