Neina is a Japanese ambient music collective revolving around keyboard player Sakana Hosomi, who also makes music as Maju and Nullagra. At first, Hosomi gave the name Neina to his solo work, but he began collaborating with electronic musicians like Masaki Narita and Hikaru Sekine in 1997. They released their debut album Formed Verse in 1999, on Germany's experimental Mille Plateaux label. More placid than the label's standard fare, Formed Verse is full of thick, warm drones and gentle glitches. After producing one of the best tracks on the highly regarded Clicks + Cuts compilation, Neina refined their sound further for the 2000 release Subconciousness. ~ Mark Richardson