ambient

Esther Ofarim, Eberhard Schoener, Wolf Wondratschek, Ulf Miehe: Complicated Ladies (1982)

2020/02/11

Truth be told, few records in my collection sound like Esther Ofarim’s Complicated Ladies. Well, truth be told, few albums will ever sound like it either…in anyone’s collection. A mixture of Israeli melismatic jazz with German liedermacher wouldn’t sound too out of the ordinary (at least in some circles). However, let’s say someone decided to…
Kohsei Morimoto (森本浩正): カオス・ゾーン (Chaos Zone) (1990)

2020/01/24

Put on your headphones. Put on and listen to this album. Spatial audio. Ambisonics. 3-D, virtual sound. There are many words to describe the technology Kohsei Morimoto’s Chaos Zone: Three Dimensional Sounds Created by Roland Sound Space System (カオス・ゾーン) or カオス・ゾーン (Chaos Zone) for short, tries to exploit a technological demo of sorts to promote…
Michio Mamiya (間宮芳生): Grave of the Fireflies Image Album (火垂るの墓イメージ・アルバム集) (1987)

2020/01/17

Right off the bat, I promise this review will be spoiler free. However, in this age of increasing troubling times, this seems like a good time to revisit Michio Mamiya’s score for 火垂るの墓, Hotaru no Haka (otherwise known as Grave of the Fireflies). Now, for those that have seen Isao Takahata’s animated masterpiece one can’t…
Terese De Sio: Sindarella Suite (1988)

2020/01/14

There’s something I really admire about Naples’ own Teresa De Sio’s way of thinking. When I went around digging through interviews to find a little more about the backstory for 1988’s Sinderalla Suite, I encountered Teresa’s fuller story. In it, Teresa painted a much bigger picture than I was expecting.
Yuki Saito (斉藤由貴): Love (1991)

2020/01/10

I have a confession to make. I have a distinct aversion to “girl” singers. I like my male singers to sound like adults. I like my female singers to sound like adults, too. Basically, I can’t stand when someone plays the role of a tart (with no irony), no matter what gender normative noun they…
Andy Davis: Clevedon Pier (1989)

2020/01/07

The changing of decades always seem to introduce truly amazing albums that fall through the cracks. Be it because they are caught in between eras. Be it because they’re simply made outside of any prevailing trend. These albums, unfortunately, reveal their true brilliance (sometimes) only in hindsight. Recently, I’ve had that aha! moment with Clevedon…
Various Artists: A GRP Christmas Collection (1988)

2019/12/24

Don’t you just hate the holidays? Don’t answer that. If anything this time of the year teaches us is that we need to find ways to forgive and move forward. Don’t you just hate Christmas music? Don’t answer that. I used to. Now, I’ve seen the light (so to speak). Perhaps this whole month I’ve…
Masatsugu Shinozaki (篠崎正嗣): A Roar Of The Tiger (1992)

2019/12/20

Winter heat from an unlikely source. Perhaps I’m showing my bias as a violinist, but I have to share another of my favorite (sadly unknown) releases from my fellow brethren. Another wonderful cross-thatched affair of fourth world and new age grooves not from the west but this time from Japan’s other uber-talented, and quite prolific,…
Steve Kindler: Automatic Writing (1985)

2019/12/18

Let’s do things in reverse. Let’s revisit the work of violinist Steve Kindler. Perhaps better known for his work with John McLaughlin and Jan Hammer, one would be surprised to discover how much more sweeping and romantic his solo work was. And it doesn’t get much more “sweeping and romantic” than his, sadly, nearly impossible…
Yukie Nishimura (西村由紀江): L’espoir (～レスポワール～) (1989)

2019/12/13

I told you things were going to get real here. Let’s get intimate. Let’s get closer to the work of Yukie Nishimura. Call it various names: neoclassical, ambient, new age, easy listening or BGM. You can call it anything you want but you can’t call it boring. Romantic is the key word here. Take one…