A Bhutanese immigrant residing in Asheville, North Carolina, Dorji wrings sparse, spidery tones from his ax, which makes him sound as if he's slyly flipping the bird to Western notions of tuning and harmony. Fracture and unpredictability prevail in his work, with his compositions unspooling into pieces of messy beauty. His 2016 collab with percussionist Tyler Damon, Both Will Escape, was one of the year's most fascinating releases, showcasing Dorji's noisier, more chaotic tendencies. It's my favorite work by Dorji, as it provides a brilliant contrast between Damon's array of unusual percussive timbres and rhythms and Dorji's expansive approach to an instrument that's rarely used to challenge nowadays. by Dave Segal