Eternal Almost

Tomo Katsurada & Misha Panfilov — 2026

“A record that clicks from the first listen and only gets better. Katsurada and Panfilov sound like they were made to play together.”

Tomo Katsurada co-founded Kikagaku Moyo in the summer of 2012 in Tokyo alongside drummer Go Kurosawa. Starting out busking on the streets of Tokyo, the five-piece built their sound around psychedelia, classical Indian music, Krautrock, and traditional folk. After a decade and five albums, the band went on indefinite hiatus in 2022. Since then, Katsurada has been based in Amsterdam, where he launched his solo project and explored new artistic territory. Now he shows up on Eternal Almost, a full collaboration with Estonian composer and producer Misha Panfilov. Panfilov is known for his warm analog sound and a mix of soul, jazz, synthesizer music, and psychedelic groove, along with the surf-leaning sounds of his other project Penza Penza. The two had followed each other’s work for a while before finally getting together, recording across Amsterdam and Tallinn. The result is a record with a loose, unhurried quality that pulls you in and holds you there, with enough deep groove and density to make repeated listens feel worth your time.

Eternal Almost is mostly instrumental, and it covers a lot of ground in just under 40 minutes. The record falls somewhere between psychedelic acid-rock, funk, and jazz fusion. With Panfilov involved, things lean toward psychedelic jazz and funk, but then the guitar and sporadic vocals from Katsurada create an entire new path of music that bubbles with burst of exciting moments while still keeping a dreamlike quality. It’s the kind of record where you stop and ask yourself what you’re even listening to, and I mean that in the best way.

For Katsurada, this feels like a natural step out from under the Kikagaku Moyo template. That band built their reputation on live improvisation and 70s-influenced psychedelic rock, but after the hiatus, Katsurada launched his solo chapter with Dream of the Egg, a quieter, more personal project built around folk sounds and visual art. Eternal Almost lands somewhere between those two worlds. It has the warmth and looseness of his solo work but a lot more energy behind it. Panfilov brings his long collaborative experience across many projects, along with the analog textures and the groove, while Katsurada counters with his eastern guitar leanings. Neither one dominates, and I think that balance is what makes this record work as well as it does.

If you’re trying to pin down a sound, think Khruangbin with more psychedelic edge, or Tangerine Dream with a funk backbone. Fans of Kikagaku Moyo will recognize Katsurada’s guitar work right away, and if you liked his old bandmate Go Kurosawa’s 2025 solo record soft shakes, this is another easy add to that shelf. Funk and jazz instrumental groups like Special Chef or Parlor Greens also come to mind. The spacier synth moments point toward the mellower corners of the Osees catalog, especially some of John Dwyer’s side projects. And like all of those reference points, Eternal Almost keeps its compositions tight and purposeful without ever feeling locked down.

“Mostra” opens the record and does exactly what a lead track should do. Its upbeat groove pulls you in without giving everything away. “Cymbal Symbol” is worth calling out too, as Katsurada’s vocals show up here and carry real weight. It’s one of those moments where you remember how strong his presence was in Kikagaku Moyo and feel glad he’s still putting that to use. “Hundreds Spirits” is the longest track at just over seven minutes and earns every second. It builds slowly and pays off without rushing, then the final minute opens up with Madis Katkosil’s drumming pushing the whole thing into full space-age territory. “Yoyo” is one of the more upbeat pieces on the record, with a warm, Babe Rainbow-style vocal driving an infectious rhythm that sticks with you. There is not really a bad track here, and the record even closes with “Punch,” an uncredited bonus track that originally served as the B-side to the “Mostra” 7-inch. It runs just two minutes but sends you out on the same energy the record opened with.

Eternal Almost is mostly instrumental so lyrics aren’t really the main focus here. When vocals do surface, they for sure function more like another instrument that creates another texture to Katsurada and Panfilov’s sound. It’s a choice that fits the record well. The music communicates without needing words to carry it.

Eternal Almost is one of the more interesting records to come out of the underground psych and funk world so far this year. It sounds like two people who genuinely wanted to make something together and had enough trust in each other to let the album go wherever it needed to go. The record clicks, and with multiple listens it only gets better. The perfect balance of tempos keeps you engaged all the way through, and its 42 minutes moves by quickly. Both Katsurada and Panfilov are still clearly figuring out what they can do on their own and together, which makes whatever comes next from either of them worth watching. And if there is an Eternal Almost II down the road, consider that an easy yes — these are two artists that sound like they were made to play together.