Yoshiko Sai’s second album, ‘Mikkou’ (lit. Stowaway), is a journey to a foreign world – a fictional Silk Road existing only within Sai’s imagination. The album opens with wind blowing as a sitar plays in an unidentified raga, its only accompaniment a lonely tabla. Sai spends the album alternating between the folkloric instruments of the Indian sub-continent and familiar singer-songwriter arrangements. The two may seem contrasting on paper, but as the tracks meld into one another, it becomes clear that this is a journey through Sai’s Silk Road – and you’re nothing but a stowaway. Let the music take you on the journey, and you may find yourself wandering this Silk Road on a sleepless night. With artwork drawn by Sai herself and an OBI-strip, this record looks absolutely fantastic. Get Mikkou on limited edition vinyl, now available from P-VINE Records.