Hishiryo is an unusual album in the Nik Bärtsch canon in that he appears solo.

However, the interest also is increased as, with the exception of two tracks, every track on this album appears elsewhere in the Bärtsch output, either as part of Ronin or Mobile - or both!

"Modul 8_9" appears on Randori - the contrast between this version and the three-part version on that album serves as a clear indication of Bärtsch's compositional techniques (here), and his arrangement techniques (Randori)."Modul 13" and "Modul 14" also appear on Randori. "Modul 4" and "Modul 5" appear on Ritual Groove Music.

And of course, "Modul 11" also makes an appearance.

At this point, the work of Bärtsch is quite exposed to analysis, yet somehow manages to remain "slippery" and "evasive" - bizarre when one thinks of the Ritualistic aspects of the music, the repetition and almost glacial pace of some of the changes. But here, where the music is - by physical necessity - stripped down to the minimum, it still seems to magically create a myriad feeling of endless possibility and infinite variation. All of which serves to underline the sheer magnificence of Bärtsch's keyboard skills: somehow, 10 fingers don't seem to be enough to be producing the layers of sound that this album contains.

Essential for any Nik Bärtsch fan or fan of solo piano music.