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Friday, September 29, 2023

Ryuichi Sakamoto’s Ongaku Zukan

 

Ryuichi Sakamoto

Ongaku Zukan

WEWANTSOUNDS


The early '80s were a turning point for Japanese musician Ryuichi Sakamoto. As a solo artist, the smash hit soundtrack he had composed for 1983's "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence" (a film in which he had also acted), had put him on the verge of becoming a global superstar. Meanwhile he had called a halt to his work with Yellow Magic Orchestra; the influential, globally successful pop trio calling it quits after the release of their 1983 album "Naughty Boys".

Against this backdrop, Sakamoto descended on Tokyo's Onkyo Haus Studio to record his fourth solo album, "Ongaku Zukan" ("Musical Encyclopedia") accompanied by a handful of musicians including his ex-YMO partners Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, and the prolifically talented Yasuaki Shimizu, Tatsuro Yamashita and Toshinori Kondo. Sakamoto began with no particular plan in mind, recording 30 basic tracks over the best part of 1983. It was on his return to the studio the following year that the album truly began to take shape. Accompanied by a newly acquired Fairlight CMI sampler, the musician made extensive use of the revolutionary equipment to create a wide palette of sound textures which he added to the tracks, a creatively fertile process that was captured on film for the French documentary "Tokyo Melody, A Film about Ryuichi Sakamoto".)

Released in August 1984 the album "Ongaku Zukan" proved a huge success, providing Sakamoto with his first top 5 hit in Japan. Filled with inspired melodies that showcase his unique gift as a composer, it offers up a fascinating mix of styles. Asiatic electro pop nuggets ("Tibetan Dance") share space with futuristic ambient pieces ("Hane no Hayashi de"), and brilliantly creative fusions of jazz, funk, techno and reggae ("Etude" and "Tabi no Kyokuhoki.")


This is the very first time that the two 1984 Japanese editions of Ryuichi Sakamoto's classic album have been released internationally

LP + Bonus 12"


CD
Tracklisting
1Tibetan Dance
2Etude
3Paradise Lost
4Self Portrait
5旅の極北 (Tabi No Kyokuhoku)
6M.A.Y. In The Backyard
7羽の林で (Hane No Hayashi De)
8森の人 (Mori No Hito)
9A Tribute TO N.J.P.
10Replica [12" BONUS]
1111: マ・メール・ロワ (Ma Mère l'Oye) [12" BONUS]
12Replica [7" BONUS

Dead Can Dance - Into the Labyrinth on SACD 🥇🥇🥇🔝🔝🔝

 


Such a masterpiece 🥇


Thanking my pal Fabio for this gem 🙏



Thursday, September 28, 2023

Agfa PER525 🥇

 


A time-capsule N.O.S. Agfa PER525 pancake, still sealed: my 2nd choice (after PER528) for sensitive recording or dubbing works 🎼




This superbly sounding tape isn’t recommended for consumer-machines (ReVox B77, Teac and the like) as it acts like (light) sandpaper on tape-heads.

Beware ✅ 





Garrard’s strobo platters

 





Spot the difference ✅




Thursday, September 21, 2023

Ackerman, Basho, De Grassi 🥇

 



Dream-team 🎼





Welch & Rawlings’ gem on tape 🥇🥇🥇

 

Acony Records is proud to announce a special limited release of The Harrow & The Harvest by Gillian Welch on reel-to-reel tape, showcasing this remarkable album in a way you've never experienced it before.


 



Each set of two 1/4" archival quality tapes is personally produced by David Rawlings at Woodland Studios in Nashville, TN, and housed in a beautiful deluxe slipcase featuring the original artwork by John Dyer Baizley. The set also includes a complete song lyric sheet and an exclusive photo print by Mark Seliger, autographed by Seliger, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings.

Starting today, you can preorder the new reel-to-reel exclusively on the Acony Records Online Store. The tapes are slated to ship mid-November.

This ultimate package brings outstanding sonic fidelity and clarity to The Harrow & The Harvest, heralded as Welch’s greatest achievement to date, and GRAMMY nominated for Best Folk Album and Best Engineered Album.

Click the link below for more details and to place your preorder!
Preorder The Harrow & The Harvest on Reel-to-Reel

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Frank Zappa and Montblanc

 





Three screen-shots of a Netherlands’ TV special about FZ… he was composing on paper score for 200 Motels while in Europe.



Thursday, September 14, 2023

Rumi’s wisdom

 





Miles was an alien?

 


… a God? A super-hero? Maybe…


🥇




Fingers are fucking creatures of habit 😏

 



"Your hands are like dogs, going to the same places they've been. You have to be careful when playing is no longer in the mind but in the fingers, going to happy places. You have to break them of their habits or they don't explore; you only play what is confident and pleasing. I'm learning to break those habits by playing instruments I know absolutely nothing about, like a bassoon or a waterphone."