Akari is the third album from Tokyo duo Illuha. Following 2011’s debut Shizuku (12k1067) and 2013’s Interstices (12k2028), Akari takes the next artistic step for the band. While Shizuku was recorded in the US and completed separately by the artists, Interstices captured the duo creating their exceptionally detailed music together live during a Japaneses tour. Akari, in turn, is the first studio album where Illuha recorded and mixed together, throughout the entire process. The beautiful st-robo studio in Tokyo put a collection of amazing equipment at their fingertips, from vintage mics and outboard gear to a vast collection of instruments, both acoustic and electronic. Their writing sessions were numerous and long with details meticulously obsessed over for nearly a year. The result is the most bewildering music Illuha have created to date. An album swimming with the most delicately tactile sounds and instrumentation that draws the listener in with hushed, motionless attention.

While Illuha’s Corey Fuller and Tomoyoshi Date are often drawn to the most sparse notes of Rhodes and Wurlitzer electric pianos, acoustic grand piano and guitar, the breadth of instrumentation is partially what makes Akari so abosrbing. They have succeeded in creating their own universe of sound, so beautifully recorded, where each element not only has its own space but connects and interacts so fluidly with the other sounds. It is as if they are placed perfectly by nature, the compositions are fluid and organic, a far cry from anything calculated or structured. It is this open space that the music exists in which in turn defines the music itself. There is ample room to breathe within this forest of gentle tines, bubbling analogue synthesizers, clicking percussion and quiet field recordings. This is subtlety at its most refined; hushed without being saccharine, distant without being morose.

Akari is the Japanese word for light. Conceputally the duo used this word as a guide, as if they were searching through the dark, trying to keep the light alive, as if one is cradling a candle doing everything in their power to keep it alight in a storm. It is this almost visceral sense of sheltering, of protection, that gives Akari a very human and personal sound whose intensely deep focus is as impressive as it is arresting.

Akari

Structures Based on the Plasticity of Sphere Surface Tension

SUPPORT THIS ARTIST

Structures Based On The Plasticity Of Sphere Surface Tension

~ IIKKI 026 ~

music : øjeRum 
artwork : Irene Zottola
album : Langt Fra Jorden ("Lejos De La Tierra" for the book)
duration : 36.39 mn 
date : December 26th 2024

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Music by øjeRum 

Mastered by Taylor Deupree 
Artwork by Irene Zottola
Design by Sprflxgrfzm

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edition : 
• vinyl: limited to 250 copies / gold LP / hand numbered  / pantone / black inner 
• cd: limited to 150 CD / pantone 
• book: limited to 500 copies / hand numbered / hand stamped / cover embossed / gold hot stamping on the cover

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pre-order : December 06th, 2024 / official release : December 26th, 2024

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Links : 
https://iikki.bandcamp.com/music
https://www.iikki-books.com/
https://www.instagram.com/iikki_laaps/
https://oejerum.bandcamp.com/
https://www.irenezottola.com/

øjeRum - Poppeltræet Med Syv Grene

Ghosted III

Don't Trust Mirrors

Lunar wave

Sakura

Hisen (2025 Remaster)

Jessica Moss • until all are free

Far Closes

Recorded between March and June of this year, Future Flowers is both a reflection and a rebirth - a gentle yet resolute act of hope from composer Hans Nox.

Some of these pieces have lived quietly for years - written a decade or more ago, resting like seeds beneath the soil. Others emerged spontaneously during the recording sessions, unfolding in real time as Hans allowed instinct and feeling to take the lead. The result is an album that bridges past and present, memory and anticipation - where old melodies find new breath, and improvisation opens unexpected pathways.

“I wanted the entire experience to be more free-flowing, more playful, more adventurous than the usual cautious approach I take to composing,” Hans writes. “Rather than regretting where I’ve been or the paths that led nowhere, I’ve chosen to trust my Savior and strive toward the brightness ahead. Yesterday is gone - tomorrow is coming. How much better it is to pursue confidence and courage.”

That sense of spiritual renewal and creative surrender runs through every note. There is a tender humanness here - fragile piano phrases that pause as if mid-thought, ambient textures that drift like light across water, melodies that carry both ache and affirmation. Even the silences seem to speak, offering a kind of stillness that listens back.

Future Flowers is, in many ways, an album about release - about letting go of the weight of the past to make room for something more open, more alive. It celebrates the decision to move forward with faith and boldness, even when the path ahead is unclear. The music does not rush; it unfolds patiently, like petals opening in the sun - quiet gestures of trust and becoming.

Like its title suggests, Future Flowers invites us to believe in renewal - to tend to the unseen roots beneath our lives, trusting that beauty will bloom again in time.

In keeping with the spirit of the music, this release has been lovingly hand-assembled in a limited Fluid Audio edition, pairing Hans Nox’s compositions with bespoke artwork and tactile design. Natural textures, archival papers, and hand-numbered inserts bring a physical warmth to the experience - each copy a small act of devotion, crafted with the same care and intentionality that shaped the album itself.

Gentle, honest, and filled with quiet light, Future Flowers is not just a collection of songs - it’s a testament to resilience, to grace, and to the faith that something beautiful still lies ahead.

Music - Hans Nox
Mastering - Ian Hawgood
Design - Daniel Crossley

Hold Fast

From the album Solo Three, available January 23, 2026 on Western Vinyl
Pre-order / listen https://lnk.to/solothree

Erik Hall - "Music for a Large Ensemble" (Steve Reich)

I Miss The Way You Swim

CST091
Transit of Venus
Hangedup & Tony Conrad

Part of Musique Fragile Volume 02 3 x 180g LP box set

www.cstrecords.com/cstmf02
www.cstrecords.com/cst091

HANGEUP & TONY CONRAD • Principles

We are an independent record label based in Montréal, releasing experimental music we care about in the most careful ways we can.

HANGEUP & TONY CONRAD • Principles

Constellation Records

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