IDM track with a focus on melodic/rhythmic piano elements and an 808 built to tear them apart.  This track has a down, but thought-provoking mood with occasional moments of excitement.  Everything just kind of came together for me on this one, and some parts felt like they wrote themselves.  I know this track will not be for everyone, but I hope it makes a few people feel something.

The Joke's on Me - Gmin 140bpm

GirlMob

Take Care of Me

Xplain

Celandine

In the final month of 2024, Meitei arrived in Beppu, a city long steeped in vapor, myth, and mineral memory, invited to create Onsen (hot spring) music commemorating the city’s 100th anniversary through sound. Known for his Lost Japan (Shitsu-nihon) works, which weave together vanished eras with the ambient residue of the past, Meitei took residence in the warehouse of Yamada Bessou, a century-old inn perched near the bay.

Over two weeks, Meitei listened to steam, stone, and history. The resulting work, Sen’nyū, traces the spirit of onsen culture. Like water seeking its path, the music unfolded with natural inevitability, shaped by Meitei’s synesthetic sensibility and deep reverence for place. Equipped with a microphone, he ventured into Beppu’s famed sites: Takegawara Onsen, Bouzu Jigoku, Hebin-yu, and the private baths of Yamada Bessou — capturing bubbling earth, hissing vents, wind over bamboo, and the voices of regular visitors. These field recordings became the bones of the composition, an attempt to sonify even the rising mist and subtle temperature shifts felt on the skin.

Sen’nyū unfolds as a single, continuous piece. Meitei’s score moves like fog through sulfur and stone, traversing the veiled madness of Bouzu Jigoku, the spectral hum of Yamada Bessou’s inner bath, and the voices and atmosphere of Takegawara Onsen. At its heart is a gesture of quiet reverence — for water’s patience, for the land’s memory, and for the hands that have bathed here across generations.

Meitei has always expressed his own views on things and events that are self-evident to the Japanese people but are now perceived as subtle impressions. On this occasion, however, he does not create music based on his own unique themes of Japan. Instead, he launches music into the world that has been created in actual places of Japan, music that can be felt with the hands.

During the project, Meitei also conceived a two-day public sound installation at Takegawara Onsen, culminating in a live performance on the final day. Bathers immersed themselves in hot spring water while listening to the piece through speakers embedded inside the bathhouse — a ritual fusion of body, place, and sound.

The album marks Meitei’s first work centered entirely on onsen, and also introduces a new phase of his Lost Japan project under the title “失日本百景” (One Hundred Lost Views of Japan) — a series focused on existing places of longing, still breathing within contemporary Japan. Alongside the album, Meitei will release his first-ever photo book, a visual documentation of this journey. A new layer is added to the world he has built through sound alone until now.

Sen’nyū continues Meitei’s devotion to Japan as subject, while opening new terrain: both ritual and remembrance, an immersion into the mineral soul of Beppu.

The album will be released on 25 July 2025 on 180g LP and CD, with mastering by Stephan Mathieu.


Sen'nyū - Ichi-no-yu

cheat codes

IDM track with a focus on bit crush distortion and airy elements emerging from it.  This track is moody and meant to push out waves of melancholy while carrying just enough groove to guide the listener.  When the parts started coming together, the bit crushed elements sounded so desolate that I couldn't resist finding some soulful sounds to create a heavy mood.  Honestly, I felt like I could have taken this one a lot further - so maybe in the future I'll turn this into a proper full length track.

Moving On - Ebmin 175bpm

Jungle track with a focus on transforming classic rock samples into a fresh modern piece.  This track brings hard grooves with dark chaotic vibes to fill out a room with grit teeth and moving feet.  So this track was originally put together for a beat challenge, but some unexpected travel left me missing the deadline. This might have been the fortunate curse as I really got the chance to wrestle this one around and make it my own at the end of the day.  

Oh Fortunate Curse - Bmin 165bpm

Breakbeat track with a focus on textured leads and clean, heavy breaks. This track is driven by bleak, melancholy melodics amidst hopeful themes for more mundane times bleeding through throughout. Honestly, I have worked on this one far too long. It has driven me a little crazy, so I am elated to finally get it off my plate to anyone else tired of these interesting times.

Interesting Times - Dmin 155bpm

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Silver Lining

Tunemaking est. 2012

One half of https://soundcloud.com/joymachines

'Good Tunes' Playlist every month(ish)

Contact: maxrutter.music}@{gmail.com

Silver Lining

Thenoisemachine