Despite his status as a key figure in the history of Japanese ambient music, Hiroshi Yoshimura remains tragically under-known outside of his home country. Yoshimura’s first concrete collection of music, initially a demo recording given to the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art to be played within the building’s architecture. This was not background music in the prior Japanese “BGM” sense of the word, but “environmental music”, the literal translation of the Japanese term kankyō ongaku given to Brian Eno’s “ambient” music when it arrived in late 70’s Japan. This record offers the perfect introduction to Hiroshi’s unique and beautiful worldview: it’s one that can be listened to – and lived in – endlessly.

Genius Japanese composer Hiroshi Yoshimura envisaged the nine compositions which comprise Music For Nine Postcards as environmental pieces to be played in the Hara Museum Of Contemporary Art. He was inspired by a visit to the gallery, and the music mirrors the clean, uncluttered space he found there. However, the music’s ambience could be the antidote to even a How Clean Is Your House crime scene, making even the worst of hoarders’ houses feel tranquil.

FFO: Susumu Yokota, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Pauline Anna Strom, Colleen.

By Martha