japan
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It’s not often I revisit works from artists I’ve already written about, but when I do, it’s because these other works shed light on a new dimension of their creativity. In today’s case, few artists reveal as many fantastic—and drastic—sides as Naoko Kawai through her work as The Gentle Wind.
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If there’s one thing I’ve learned from a recent trip to Japan, it’s this: I might be too ahead of the curve. And no, not in the way you might think. It’s in turning my recent focus towards music lost in the shuffle of the CD era.
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Do you feel and see it? Isn’t “Spooky Season” unofficially around us? Whenever a certain air descends on most of us, I entertain certain kinds of records I normally wouldn’t. And in today’s case, on Norihiro Tsuru’s soundtrack to 人魚の傷 aka Mermaid’s Scar, it forces me to revisit a chilling story that really stuck with…
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With fall fully in season, I think now is a great time to turn over a few leaves I’ve neglected. Lately, my mind has been gravitating toward the music of Japanese singer Kuniko Fukushima and her 1983 leftfield turn, 夢幻 (Mugen).
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Lately, I’ve been thinking about how we remember our past. As summer continues winding down and vacation time dries up, I’ve been reflecting on how we try to capture those special moments in the places we visit, whether on holiday or during a break from day-to-day life. How does one remember these experiential places? Increasingly,…
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When I think of “relaxation music,” I envision music with a Brazilian touch. It’s that kind of music that carries a certain breeze, a sense of yearning, and bittersweetness that evokes the transition between the heat of summer and the coolness of fall. In considering Japan, as we often do, my thoughts turn to Jun…
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I hate the old saying, “they don’t make them like they used to.” However, in the case of Atsuko Okuno – better known as Iria – you could argue that she has always made herself into exactly what she wanted to be. From pioneering Japanese girl punk rocker to her wonderful left-field turn as a…
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Sometimes, it’s the combined power of simpatico ideas that yields the biggest payoff. I remind myself of this whenever I listen to the wonderfully sunny, “summery” music of Carole Serrat. Made in Japan but born in France, Carole’s OSE serves as a perfect gateway into a little-known bit of musical symbiosis.
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Once again, we’re back at the shoreline or more like: I can’t seem to leave the water’s edge. As summer continues to wind down, I keep going back to explore my kind of deep easy listening: “resort music.” My mind and ears keep heading down to the early works of Moonriders’s Masahiro Takekawa and his…
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With nearly everyone transitioning into late summer, my mind (and ears) lately come back to Yoko Kanno’s music. It’s not Yoko’s out-there jazz for Cowboy Bebop nor her cyberdelic contemporary work on anime like Macross Plus. No, it’s Yoko Kanno’s little-heralded, windswept, breezy, Balearic soundtracks for Koei’s 大航海時代 (aka Uncharted Waters) video game series.
ambient art pop art rock balearic brazilian electro-acoustic england environmental music experimental fourth world Funk fusion japan jazz minimalist mpb neo-folk neoclassical new age walearic