minimalist
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One of my favorite instrumental albums needs a bit of backstory. First of all, Satsuki Shibano’s Rendez-vous is not entirely a work of hers. Be that as it may, it’s entirely her own vision you see rework French neo-impressionist composer Pascal Comelade’s prior oeuvre into something far more intriguing. Joined by Yoshio Ojima, and released…
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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…
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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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How much are we a product of our past? It’s those thoughts that were floating through pianist Febian Reza Pane’s mind when he created Dreams Of Ganesha. From the first piano note you hear played to the last sustained note your hear ringing, instant memories of the deeply inward “jazz” music of Keith Jarrett start…
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Masahiro Sugaya has always been an interesting composer. Based in Tokyo, it’s been his music that’s soundtracked dance theater group Pappa TARAHUMARA’s most known works. Masahiro’s music draws from a mix of minimal, ambient, world, and Japanese traditional styles. So, no one album or song can perfectly distill how varied (in mood and sound) each…
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In a not-so-recent interview with Vice Italy, Lino Capra Vaccina laments that out of his recently reissued work we’re missing most of the picture of what he was trying to do. While Antico Adagio was one of these wonderful totems of Italian minimalism, it wasn’t until a decade, or so, later, in the mega rare…
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This one is a bit special. Last we heard from Seigen, he was introducing us to his very jazz-influenced take on Japanese New Age music. On the follow up to that epic debut, The Green Chinese Table, we find Seigen dividing his time up between recording sessions in Tokyo and New York City. It’s impossible…
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It would be easy to supplant whatever I stated in my post for Nuno Canavarro’s Plux Quba and simply transport it here. If we include Roberto Musci & Giovanni Venosta’s Water Messages On Desert Sand, as another trafficking in that gorgeous unplaceable thing — then we can think of it as another forgotten reimagining of…
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More Dutch love for these close-to-summer days. The final album by Nasmak, Silhouette, truth be told, was a sell-out. And truth be told, was absolutely their best work. I imagine it was a hard sell to quantify back then, take a spellbinding blend of Japanese-indebted electronic pop, mix in the sinewy, fretless-bass sound of Japan-”the…
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Toshifumi Hinata, what can one say about Toshifumi? By far one of my favorite artists and composers, it’s not hard for me to talk about his career and music without ruminating over his work with some wild wanderlust affectation. I’ll spare you that, though, because you don’t need me fawning over one of my personal,…
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