electro-acoustic

  • To be completely honest with you, I’m still struggling to assess how to introduce you to Goffredo Haus’s Musiche Per Poche Parti. For many it will easily wear the crown of minimalism and experimental music. For others, who can get past its very silicon-based creation, it might speak to a fourth wave of electro-acoustic music…

  • Can I say something? I’m beginning to empathize more with the creative mindset of one Henry Kawahara than with one of Hiroshi Yoshimura. I say this not to inflame any passions but because I’m appreciating how he comes to terms with creating his kind of music. Far from the studied, mannered, ambient, Japanese kankyo ongaku,…

  • A leftfield reimagining of vaunted Afro-Cuban jazz classics, in a new school “futuristic” Japanese Pop style, shouldn’t sound so interesting as it does in Today’s Latin Project. Launched on the demise of one famous group (The Tokyo Cuban Boys) and the rise of one important, new musical voice, Yasuaki Shimizu, you’d expect something titled Today’s…

  • It’s not often you encounter the work of a percussionist who is as wildly as inventive as one can be, yet can be prone to veering off where (he should know better) that none should follow, such is Brian Slawson’s Distant Drums which gets an unequivocal recommendation from me. Mr. Slawson is much like your…

  • Totem proves there’s more than one genius behind the Shimizu family tree. Rightfully, it gives you a peek into the deeply brilliant leftfield ideas of Mieko Shimizu, joining brother Yasuaki Shimizu as another  unique branch from that musical lineage. Finding herself in the UK, in 1988, Mieko signed with Chris Cutler’s (of Henry Cow), of…

  • Oh, that healing feeling. Heaven knows I’ve been needing it more than usual, lately. Thankfully, I’ve had just the prescription for when life gives you some sour as hell lemons: Keita’s Healing Feeling. All is right in the world, for just 60 minutes, when I fire up the old laptop and hear Keita pitter-pattering about.…

  • Sanford Ponder’s Etosha – Private Music In The Land Of Dry Water holds distinction for many things. One of them is being the first ever release on Peter Baumann’s, of sometime Tangerine Dream fame, Private Music record label. Another is for being a complete showcase of the sheer emotion (and promise) one can pull out…

  • Those drums! Slagerij Van Kampen’s A Long Walk On A Short Pier is a must have for those who appreciate purely percussive music. A brilliant mish mash of all sorts of “tribal” music, Slagerij Van Kampen’s A Long Walk On A Short Pier takes you out of their Dutch roots and transports you to the…

  • How many second acts can one artist get? Franco Battiato might already be in his 10th or more. At the time of this release, 1995, Franco was a 50 year old man — keep that in mind. Unworried by what was out there, unhurried to prove anything, Franco Battiato (once again) came out of nowhere…

  • Illustration by Laura Gomez I think, no undertaking is ever as enriching if isn’t done with a purpose in mind. For myself, trying to understand and (most importantly) differentiate what makes Japanese Ambient music different than other ways to music led me to an idea. It’s one that I thank NTS for giving me a…

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