Yui Onodera / Ray
https://serein.co.uk/releases/yui-onodera-ray

Ray by Yui Onodera is a lithe album of glittering electro-acoustic music which blends impeccable sound design and processing with acoustic instrumentation. The material was originally commissioned for use in a film about John Cage, so it's no surprise to hear the percussive sound of a prepared piano appear regularly throughout the album. Its plucked, staccato strings are contrasted by lush string arrangements and textural washes, argent synthesizer arpeggios add their own precise voice to the mix.

The material for Ray will feature on the film Cage 64 which is to be released in the near future. Our thanks to director Markus Heidingsfelder for letting us release it. The sleeve artwork is a collage of stills from the set design for Europeras (a series of five operas by John Cage) shown at the Ruhrtriennale in Germany, also kindly used with permission.

Ray 1 (demo Ver)

Yui Onodera is a Tokyo-based composer, producer, sound artist, and new media artist, renowned for exploring the relationship between musical forms, architectural acoustics, and spatial awareness. A distinctive figure in the realms of experimental ambient and electro-acoustic music, Onodera weaves delicate hybrids of digital technology and acoustic instrumentation. His work spans across both composition and installation, probing perceptions, memory, and sonic affect across a myriad of creative forms. Using a broad palette of musical instruments, field recordings, and electronics, he crafts provocative listening experiences and creates dense clouds of blurry, hypnotic sound. His works have achieved international acclaim, with releases on esteemed labels such as KOMPAKT and Room40.

Onodera's academic pursuits in music and architectural design set the stage for his professional career. Following his tenure as an architectural acoustics designer, he leveraged his expertise in architectural acoustics and sonic arts to earn commissions creating sounds and music for specific, tangible locations like complex facilities, offices, and airplanes. Onodera's interest in the psychological effects of sound shaped his work, which he identifies as "environmental music", a Japanese translation of "ambient", but framed in a new context. These pieces serve as reminders of how sound can define and center individuals within their personal space.

Alongside his music career, Onodera develops art/media installations as a founding member of the art collective Nor, an entity centered around multidimensional work through sound, visual and installation art. In recent years, his work has been exhibited at international festivals and museums, including Media Ambition Tokyo, MUTEK Festival (Japan), and the NTT inter-communication center [ICC].