Today we’re joined by man of good taste and many great shares, one Mr. Francis Heaney, for a guest post sharing his first of two guest mixes giving you a peek into the work of Japan’s visionary musician: Akira Inoue. A titan of ’80s Japanese Pop and underground music as well, it was his wildly varied work (either solo or as an in-demand producer or session musician) that I’d argue would help make contemporary Japanese music what it is today. But his work didn’t end there. For now, I’ll let Francis take it from here.
It’s hard to believe now that I’m so thoroughly immersed in Akira Inoue fandom, but about a year ago, he was not on my radar at all. But then someone who I had started following on YouTube posted a copy of Inoue’s rare cassette-only album Karsavina, and I immediately wanted to hear more. Back then, I didn’t realize I was about to enter a very, very deep rabbit hole.
Sometimes you’ll run across an artist and discover they’ve only released a handful of albums. Sometimes an artist will have a dozen works to their name, which is a little daunting but doable. This time, I’d found someone who had not only released dozens of albums (and continues to release them), but has worked on scores more for other artists — sometimes as producer and arranger, sometimes as a songwriter and general impresario.
It’s hard for me to think of an analog in the English-speaking music world, someone who’s created such a vast amount of quality material in so many genres. Maybe Brian Eno (although stylistically they’re very different).
I tried to winnow my collection down into two approachable one-hour mixes (the second one will follow in a separate post) that would cover solo material and collaborations in various styles. What’s here? Prog instrumentals, acoustic jazz, fusion, nontraditional compositions for traditional Japanese instruments, classical music, pop, rock, ambient music, and combinations thereof.
Hopefully, this mix will help a few more fans to find their way into the fold.
Akira Inoue I Mix
- Akira Inoue, “Tomが踊る日” from Do Not Cry, Nara-Chan (Soundtrack)
- Akira Inoue, “Integrations” from Ostinatissima
- Aska Strings, “Sanskrit Garden” from Foot Prints
- Akira Inoue & David Rhodes, “Out of Grey Skies” from Snowflake
- Akira Inoue, “Welcome to Hindenburg” from Prophetic Dream
- Nozomi Odagi, “Gardening” from Orchard
- Akira Inoue, “ベネチア観光団 (Venice Tourism Agency)” from A Cinderella Story (Soundtrack)
- Akira Inoue, “Anticipation” from Anne: Dreaming an Island
- Akira Inoue, “Tikkap (feat. Halocline)” from Ostinato
- The Voice Project, “三つの星と羅針盤 (Three Stars and Ancient Compass)” from Show
- Akira Inoue, “Blowin’ in the Wind” from Ophelia
- Akira Inoue, “Changed Up” from We Can Win Even Though We Are Weak (Soundtrack)
- Sumiko Yamagata, “i/o” from 歌が降りてくる 2010
- Kyoko Yoshida, “Eleanor Rigby” from Plays the Beatles
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