A journey through Japan’s quietly radical independent underground of the late ‘90s and early 2000s. Drawn from small-run CDs, obscure compilations, and deeply interconnected label networks, reflecting a moment where ambient, glitch, IDM, and experimental club sounds flourished into new forms — shaped by a generation of artists working across clubs, galleries, and record shops.

Created by [Cameron Cullen](https://www.instagram.com/cam.eee_/) 
Find the full tracklist and related episodes on NTS: https://www.nts.live/shows/the-nts-guide-to/episodes/the-nts-guide-to-data-haiku-music-from-japan-s-cd-era-electronic-underground-8th-july-2025

NTS Guide to: Music from Japan’s CD-era Electronic Underground 080725

spacey synth sounds with:
elektron octatrack
elektron analog rytm ii
korg monologue
eurorack modular

Everything goes underground, deep and experimental here. 
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It's real and ethereal at the same time. It's creative expression thanks to imagination, it's ineffable, it's the only universal language of human being, it's emotion, ordered but always different, formal without form, it's mathematically organized but still the highest expression of freedom. It's art because art is never perfect. There is never perfect symmetry, absolute harmony. Harmonics, chords, the circle of fifths, the timbre. 
They all represent this magical imperfection.

MUSIC is the highest form of art because, unlike the other arts, you can't really see the object like in a paint but through notes you can imagine everything you want. More than an art is an incessant and primordial need, an obsession. Maybe the most beautiful of human obsessions.

mathematician who's a dj for kicks

trance, techno, progressive, ambient

https://www.instagram.com/rou_rodriguez/

https://vimeo.com/rourodriguez

Feminista / killing joy as a world making project

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NTS Guide to: Music from Japan’s CD-era Electronic Underground 080725

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