The generally vague booklet-notes accompanying this disc contain a revealing quote. Erkoreka’s teacher Michael Finnissy told his student that art has two essential ingredients, ambiguity and dirt. Perhaps that’s the intention behind the opening selection Kaiolan’s declamatory clusters, slow-drooling string portamentos and overall textural bleakness. Although Muraiki for solo bass flute can’t completely avoid clichéd extended techniques and goes on too long for what the music has to say, I love the shakuhachi-like qualities of its simplest melodic material. Ertzak opens with a single note passed around between string trio, flute and clarinet, and soon morphs into mainly middle-register tremolos, followed by delicate lines in register extremes. After big rhythmic building-up at the halfway mark, the tremolos return, fragmented and shuffled with colourful sophistication.

Krater resembles Kaiolan but with more rhythmically engaging, virtuoso passagework. However, Rondó seems the clearest and most carefully crafted among the four works for larger ensemble, where Erkoreka’s signature gestures (cluster chords, slides, quick asymmetrical phrases) unfold with more characterful contrasts and narrative flow. These qualities distinguish Saturno for clarinet and cello to even more imaginative effect, from its raucous opening flourishes and quiet low-pitched collisions to the lyrical clarinet lines supported by jagged cello pizzicatos and slow-motion tag-teaming above and beyond the staff. An arguably rambling solo piece for vibraphone, Pyrite, stands out for Erkoreka’s skilful manipulation of the resonator pedal playing off percussive non-sustained note attacks. Say what you will about ambiguity and dirt but the musicians of Ensemble Recherche navigate Erkoreka’s difficult scores with the utmost in clarity and cleanliness.