-
Interior music. It seems that this is it, everyone. We’ve spoken before about Hiroshi Yoshimura’s Soundscape 1: Surround, our introduction to Misawa Home’s foundational environmental music series for Japanese prefabricated houses. You’ve probably heard elsewhere Yutaka Hirose’s entry into the series, a collection of peaceful electroacoustic minimalist pastorales aptly dubbed Soundscape 2: Nova. Then, somewhere,…
-
The more I burrow down rabbit holes, the more I realize music has interesting ways of making (seemingly) strange bedfellows work best together. Case in point: Fania Miñaur’s all too brief career and this album, Deja Hablar Al Tiempo.
-
If it’s comfort week for me, it’s more music comfort for y’all. And it doesn’t get any more comfortable than Yasuko Agawa’s (aka Miss A) Dancing Lovers’ Nite. On the surface, far from being the jazzy/soulful Japanese pop music she’s much more known for, somewhere, lay something hidden: a fascinating, heart-pumping stab at taking her…
-
It’s not normal for me to phone it in but these aren’t normal times. Yours truly, in case anyone’s wondering, has been under Corona virus quarantine for the past week. In between taking naps, experiencing brain fog, and (in this case) sharing TMI, I’ve taken to going back and listening to my musical “comfort food”…
-
I’ve got a confession to make: I rarely dream. I know that’s an odd thing to state but it’s true. When I sleep I find that it’s rare that I can remember my dreams or even if I dreamt at all. Strangely enough, my latest mix for Digging Deep at LYL Radio seems to be…
-
I’ve gotta admit. Few albums stump me to describe. Of the few that do, AQ! Ishii’s and Hiroko Taniyama’s 楠劇場 オリジナル・アルバム (Kusunoki Gekijou) must be up there in my personal canon. Much like Mariah’s うたかたの日々/ Utakata No Hibi, Aragon’s self-titled debut, and Godley & Creme’s Consequences, to name a few close brethren, so too does…
-
I hate giving you just a taste of anything but Né Ladeiras’s Corsaria has to serve as one today. Ambient and ethereal, Corsaria rightfully belongs in a certain pantheon of Portuguese music, much like the work of Zeca Afonso (and others), trying to bridge that gap between the moorless, Portuguese fado tradition and whatever new…
-
In light of everything that is currently happening at the time of this writing, I’d hate to add any dark energy into the world. For times like these, perhaps it’s a good occasion to revisit another work of the trailblazing Hiroki Okano. On ENN, (roughly translating to “circle”), we get to appreciate some of the…
-
Serenity now. Serenity later? Well, not that much later if you’re tuned into the cozy ambiance of little-known New Age musician Chris Stonor aka L’Esprit. Gentle and quietly so unobtrusive, L’Esprit’s sophomore release, Far Journey, somehow gets your attention by doing the little things so right.
-
Photo by Sara Mautone As I began proofing my interview with the amazingly talented Sara Mautone, artistic director of Antena Magazine, photographer, and music selector, I have to say, her answers struck a chord with me. It’s something I could feel coursing through her contribution for Digging Deep.
ambient art pop art rock balearic brazilian electro-acoustic england environmental music experimental folk-rock fourth world Funk fusion japan jazz minimalist neo-folk neoclassical new age walearic