In this post I will try to introduce to you a great album issued by "Light in the Attic" records.
The title of the album is "Kankyō Ongaku: Japanese Ambient, Environmental & New Age Music 1980-1990".
The compilation is dexterously made by Spencer Doran, creator of the American electronic music duo Visible Cloaks and it includes many leading artists such as Haruomi Hosono, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Joe Hisaishi, as well as other pioneers like Hiroshi Yoshimura, Yoshio Ojima and Satoshi Ashikawa.
One note; you may only find the abridged version in music streaming services, the actual album consists of 3 LPs or 2 CDs.
Listening to the full album is a great experience and probably one of the best opportunities to get to know Japan's best ambient, minimal, avant-garde and new age musical examples from the 80s.
The genre of ambient music has always been an interest to Japanese musicians and other artists after the 70s and this type of music has been used in many different areas of the Japanese art scene. The pieces you hear in this collection were once in commercials, exhibitions and even in Muji stores.
The album proves the capacity of the Japanese ambient musicians that have been following the footsteps of Eric Satie, John Cage and Brian Eno. You will hear a lot of synth music and sound effects in a minimal but at the same time spacious atmosphere.
One last remarkable point on the collection is that all the artists taking place in the compilation are coming from very different musical backgrounds and yet the recording gives the listener a sensation that there is an immense continuity between each piece. I almost got the feeling of being beamed up to a magical space...
Let's conclude with two fine examples from the album.
Hiroshi Yoshimura - "Blink"
Fumio Miyashita - "See The Light"
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