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Elephant March

With a strong interest in geology and biology, Takahashi started imagining the landscape and life of the Earth in prehistoric times based on fossils and illustrated books, later used as inspiration for his compositions. At first sight, these images make it easy to envision the ecosystems and environments of prehistoric Earth as so distinct from those of today that they could almost be seen as different planets. Living through the pandemic, when Takahashi first started composing the songs, made him rethink his initial thoughts. 

“The Palaeozoic era was a time of extinction, of prosperity and decline. When I think ab out these facts from geology, they are quite spectacular. But I felt that this cycle is still happening today, b ut on a different scale. If you think about the time before Covid-19, people were very active and free to move around. It was with this in mind that I set about writing the music, imagining what it would be like to overcome the social upheaval of Covid-19." 

It's the similarities between his initial analogy and the new pandemic reality that ultimately formed the main context for Paleozoic. This led Takahashi to make an album which sonically reflected the sequence of Paleozoic: starting from a time when life flourished in the sea ,before the arrival of life on land, to the gradual arrival of plants and insects on land and the end of an era due to change. 

In order to create a more vivid representation of the life force and grandeur of nature, Takahashi decided to forgo his signature lo-fi production style of using GarageBand on his Iphone. For this, he enlisted the help of sound engineer, producer and Atoris bandmate Kohei Oyamada with the mix and arrangements, resulting in a highly evocative, expansive sound palette. 

“With his techno sensibility and sound engineering skills, he was able to bring me closer to the sound I've been chasing, which is full of mystery, life and images of a wild and simple time. This record is the first step in my work with him and the foundation for further progress." 

The result is a fascinating journey through imaginary landscapes infused with great dramatic affect and an acute sense for details across sweeping drones and electronic glistens. 
credits
released April 29, 2022 

Composed by H. Takahashi 
Mix & arrangement by Kohei Oyamada 
Mastered by Taylor Deupree (vinyl) and Kohei Oyamada (digital) 
Artwork by Alicia Carrera

Emerald

HIMOROGI is the tenth album by ironomi. Divining Japanese mythology and its relationship with nature, the new album is an aural pastorale that fosters deeper territory in the realm of spiritual searching through dreamy, drifting piano, 17-string koto (jūshichi-gensō) and new form electronic processing. 

ironomi’s desire to commune with mother Earth and its season’s colors has always served as a continual inspiration for their music. In HIMOROGI, the duo delves into a more spiritual focus in their journey towards musical impressionism. Japanese culture has long held the idea that heavenly spirits live in many elements of the natural world, such as mountains, rocks, trees, and the sea. The album title comes from the Japanese word Himorogi (神籬), which in Shinto terminology is translated as "divine fence," which refers to sacred areas that a celestial spirit enters.

Six songs were created in chronological order, ama-saki (Bloom in the Sky), yume-asobi (Playing in Dream), sakura-ame (Cherry Blossom Rain), hibiki-sora (Echoing Sky), ama-yadori (Rain Shelter), chumu (Abstract Nil Space). On each, they move organically in the nature they were recorded, as rain connects the sky with the Earth, giving life to it with blossoming flowers. Once the hues of autumn bid their farewell, another life cycle begins. Rather than arriving at a state of tranquility, the idea is to reach a state of ‘nothingness’ as suggested in the zazen-inspired chumu. 

Junya Yanagidaira’s sublime, elegant phrasing of subtle polyphony and melodic piano lines fall like rain through a picturesque blue horizon over calming koto sways by multi-instrumentalist Yu Isobe. Flashes of sunlight momentarily refract through the water’s surface in the form of bright starlit keyboards, at times weaving child-like melodies of enchantment. The lightest touch of koto strings seems to hover and balance the murmur of a garden stream. It beckons you closer as the gentle caress of the music awakens your inner senses. HIMOROGI will remain timeless because the duo created music that absconded with time and place with their endless visions of beauty. 

ironomi releases HIMOROGI on 24 February 2023 via KITCHEN. LABEL. Available on clear vinyl LP, CD and digital formats, with artwork by Japanese photographer Kisei Kobayashi and design by KITCHEN. LABEL founder Ricks Ang. Katsunori Fukuoka mastered this record at Flysound in Japan.

ironomi - 桜雨 (himorogi, 2023)

amore by ryuichi sakamoto and fennesz

The 2007 collaborative release, Cendre, of Ryuichi Sakamoto and Christian Fennesz.

03 Haru

~ IIKKI 023 ~

music : The Humble Bee & Offthesky
artwork : Mikael Siirilä
album : Here In, Absence
duration : 38.29 mn
date : February 29th 2024

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craig tattersall : spaces, notes, & tapes
jason corder : arrangement, mixing, synths, percussive textures, glockenspiel, and vibraphone
shilpi gupta : flute
rin howell : voice

Mastered by Ian Hawgood
Artwork by Mikael Siirilä
Design by Sprflxgrfzm

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edition :
• vinyl: limited to 300 copies / hand numbered  / selective UV varnish / white inner
• cd: limited to 200 CD / hand numbered, hand-made / selective UV varnish
• book: limited to 500 copies / hand numbered / embossed / selective UV varnish / hand stamped / visible seam / cutting cover pages

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pre-order : February 02nd, 2024 / official release : February 29th, 2024

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Links :
https://iikki.bandcamp.com/music
https://www.iikki-books.com/
www.instagram.com/iikki_laaps/
https://www.leavings.co.uk/
https://offthesky.bandcamp.com/

The Humble Bee & Offthesky - Senses

Last Night The Moon Came -Jon Hassell

A little something for a stormy night. Recorded impulsively at home, especially for the very first Piano Day, curated by Nils Frahm...

Isotach

Piano M 8017 4:38 27-10-2025

Transit

“Susan is an intimate, contemplative piano composition that unfolds gently, with soft dynamics and graceful pauses. Its harmonic touches and subtle silences invite introspection and emotion. Perfect for cinematic moments, poetic visuals, or elegant brand storytelling, Susan demonstrates Bislo’s capacity to evoke depth through simplicity.”


Susan

A LONG VACATION 2016.07.09 - impro show

From "We Can Sleep Now", available on cassette and digital from Unifactor:
https://unifactor.bandcamp.com/album/we-can-sleep-now

The Mountain (cassette out now on Unifactor)

Pre-order available now. Release date: Jan 31, 2020

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Deep Listening, we offer you the definitive double LP combining the classic, complete original 1989 release with selected tracks from the Deep Listening Band’s 1991 album The Readymade Boomerang.

This elegant double LP is packaged in a gatefold sleeve with original and updated recollections from the performers, the recording engineer and a mesostic from John Cage, to which these recordings are inextricably linked.

Recorded in a cistern, this double LP reverberates with brilliant sonic clarity and masterfully improvised performances combining live electronics, vocals, trombone and accordion. Deep Listening is a classic in the fields of improvisation, minimalism, ambient/drone and modern classical.

Listen with attentiveness, listen while lying down, listen with headphones - as recording engineer Al Swanson entices the listener to become a virtual performer in selecting the many different ways to perceive these phenomenal tracks. Whatever you do, listen deeply.

Oliveros - Dempster - Panaiotis "Deep Listening" 2LP - 30th Anniversary & First time on vinyl!

from the album 'because of a flower' available 11/13

amore by ryuichi sakamoto and fennesz

yijun sshen

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