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CD
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WRWTFWW 034CD
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WRWTFWW Records present the official reissue of Motohiko Hamase's remarkable ambient/environmental/minimalism project #Notes of Forestry, available for the first time since its original release in 1988. The album is sourced from original masters and available on vinyl and CD with liner notes from the artist. This marks the third release from the Esplanade Series which focuses on the works of Yoshio Ojima, Motohiko Hamase, and Satsuki Shibano. One of the most fascinating and peculiar works from the golden era of Japanese ambient, #Notes of Forestry was initially released in 1988 by Newsic, the cult label started by Tokyo's Wacoal Art Center (also known as Spiral), home, notably, of Yoshio Ojima who co-produced the album. Conceived by jazz bassist turned experimentalist Motohiko Hamase, the magnum opus offers an enchanting mix of free-form pastoral electronics, otherworldly percussions by Yasunori Yamaguchi, and delightfully allusive piano played by none other than Satsuki Shibano (Sound Process' Wave Notation 3). Vibrant, sometimes eerie, and absolutely captivating, #Forestry captures Hamase's quest for musical freedom, he explains: "Inside the body of a musician, music is always transcendentally resonating. More than language, music reigns. When creating music overlaps with the moment my body performs, I strive to be as close as possible to the feeling of musical freedom. I feel that this notion lies at the foundation of this album." Musical freedom, here, provides an essential escape, extending the path uncovered by pivotal releases such as Midori Takada's Through The Looking Glass (WRWTFWW 018LP, 019CD/LP), Satoshi Ashikawa's Still Way (WRWTFWW 030CD/LP), and Yutaka Hirose's Nova (WRWTFWW 028CD/LTD). #Notes of Forestry is reissued in conjunction with Motohiko Hamase's Technodrome (WRWTFWW 035CD/LP) and Anecdote (WRWTFWW 036CD/LP) albums.
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LP
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WRWTFWW 034LP
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2023 restock; LP version. WRWTFWW Records present the official reissue of Motohiko Hamase's remarkable ambient/environmental/minimalism project #Notes of Forestry, available for the first time since its original release in 1988. The album is sourced from original masters and available on vinyl and CD with liner notes from the artist. This marks the third release from the Esplanade Series which focuses on the works of Yoshio Ojima, Motohiko Hamase, and Satsuki Shibano. One of the most fascinating and peculiar works from the golden era of Japanese ambient, #Notes of Forestry was initially released in 1988 by Newsic, the cult label started by Tokyo's Wacoal Art Center (also known as Spiral), home, notably, of Yoshio Ojima who co-produced the album. Conceived by jazz bassist turned experimentalist Motohiko Hamase, the magnum opus offers an enchanting mix of free-form pastoral electronics, otherworldly percussions by Yasunori Yamaguchi, and delightfully allusive piano played by none other than Satsuki Shibano (Sound Process' Wave Notation 3). Vibrant, sometimes eerie, and absolutely captivating, #Forestry captures Hamase's quest for musical freedom, he explains: "Inside the body of a musician, music is always transcendentally resonating. More than language, music reigns. When creating music overlaps with the moment my body performs, I strive to be as close as possible to the feeling of musical freedom. I feel that this notion lies at the foundation of this album." Musical freedom, here, provides an essential escape, extending the path uncovered by pivotal releases such as Midori Takada's Through The Looking Glass (WRWTFWW 018LP, 019CD/LP), Satoshi Ashikawa's Still Way (WRWTFWW 030CD/LP), and Yutaka Hirose's Nova (WRWTFWW 028CD/LTD). #Notes of Forestry is reissued in conjunction with Motohiko Hamase's Technodrome (WRWTFWW 035CD/LP) and Anecdote (WRWTFWW 036CD/LP) albums.
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2LP
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WRWTFWW 036LP
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Double LP version. Three-sided. WRWTFWW Records announce the official reissue of Motohiko Hamase's extremely rare live album Anecdote, recorded in 1987. This marks the sixth release from the Esplanade Series which focuses on the works of Yoshio Ojima, Motohiko Hamase, and Satsuki Shibano. Anecdote was recorded live June 12th, 1987 at Spiral Garden (Wacoal Art Center) in Aoyama (Tokyo) as part of the Eat Newsic Concert No.3. Motohiko Hamase on electric fretless bass, synthesizers, and computer programming, is accompanied by frequent collaborators Toshio Kaji on acoustic piano and synthesizers, and Yasunori Yamaguchi (of #Notes of Forestry fame) on acoustic percussions. The three-man band improvises around Hamase's unique repertoire of ambient and electronic music, reinterpreting pieces from his albums Reminiscence (STUDIOMUL 010CD/LP), Intaglio (STUDIOMUL 008CD/LP), and #Notes of Forestry. It's environmental and minimalist experiments with a jazz soul, three brilliant musicians flowing to blissful heights, and a beautiful testament to the '80s Japanese ambient scene that gave birth to seminal releases by Midori Takada, Satoshi Ashikawa, Yutaka Hirose, and many more. Essential. The live album came out on CD only in 1993 on Motohiko Hamase's Lung Records. It is now reissued in conjunction with his #Notes of Forestry and Anecdote albums. The album is sourced from original masters and available on vinyl (double LP) for the first time ever as well as on CD. It comes with liner notes from the artist.
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CD
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WRWTFWW 036CD
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WRWTFWW Records announce the official reissue of Motohiko Hamase's extremely rare live album Anecdote, recorded in 1987. This marks the sixth release from the Esplanade Series which focuses on the works of Yoshio Ojima, Motohiko Hamase, and Satsuki Shibano. Anecdote was recorded live June 12th, 1987 at Spiral Garden (Wacoal Art Center) in Aoyama (Tokyo) as part of the Eat Newsic Concert No.3. Motohiko Hamase on electric fretless bass, synthesizers, and computer programming, is accompanied by frequent collaborators Toshio Kaji on acoustic piano and synthesizers, and Yasunori Yamaguchi (of #Notes of Forestry fame) on acoustic percussions. The three-man band improvises around Hamase's unique repertoire of ambient and electronic music, reinterpreting pieces from his albums Reminiscence (STUDIOMUL 010CD/LP), Intaglio (STUDIOMUL 008CD/LP), and #Notes of Forestry. It's environmental and minimalist experiments with a jazz soul, three brilliant musicians flowing to blissful heights, and a beautiful testament to the '80s Japanese ambient scene that gave birth to seminal releases by Midori Takada, Satoshi Ashikawa, Yutaka Hirose, and many more. Essential. The live album came out on CD only in 1993 on Motohiko Hamase's Lung Records. It is now reissued in conjunction with his #Notes of Forestry and Anecdote albums. The album is sourced from original masters and available on vinyl (double LP) for the first time ever as well as on CD. It comes with liner notes from the artist.
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CD
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WRWTFWW 035CD
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WRWTFWW Records announce the official reissue of Motohiko Hamase's astounding ambient house album Technodrome, originally released in 1993. This marks the fourth release from the Esplanade Series which focuses on the works of Yoshio Ojima, Motohiko Hamase, and Satsuki Shibano. Inspired by John Cage, Jon Hassel, Brian Eno, and the emergence of house and techno music, Technodrome is jazz bassist turned electronic experimentalist Motohiko Hamase's foray into what he calls ambient house or, as he explains, "using the gritty sensation inherent to the core of house music" to create an ambient record "aiming to express inverted images, optical illusions, and the sense of déjà vu that modern people can get in the city." Technodrome is constructed around innovative minimalism, a robotic funk orchestrated by bass lines and percussions, and monochrome moods. It's the most intriguing project in Hamase's discography, a ghostly ride set in '90s urban landscape, where repetition sets the groove and brings things to life, echoing Hamase's deeper subtext for his compositions: "and attempt to recreate (as metaphor) the time in our mother's womb." The album was initially released in 1993 by Newsic, the cult label started by Tokyo's Wacoal Art Center (also known as Spiral), home, notably, of Yoshio Ojima who co-produced the album. It is now reissued in conjunction with Motohiko Hamase's #Notes of Forestry (1988) and Anecdote (WRWTFWW 036CD/LP) albums. The album is sourced from original masters and available on CD and vinyl for the first time ever. Includes liner notes from the artist.
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LP
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WRWTFWW 035LP
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LP version. WRWTFWW Records announce the official reissue of Motohiko Hamase's astounding ambient house album Technodrome, originally released in 1993. This marks the fourth release from the Esplanade Series which focuses on the works of Yoshio Ojima, Motohiko Hamase, and Satsuki Shibano. Inspired by John Cage, Jon Hassel, Brian Eno, and the emergence of house and techno music, Technodrome is jazz bassist turned electronic experimentalist Motohiko Hamase's foray into what he calls ambient house or, as he explains, "using the gritty sensation inherent to the core of house music" to create an ambient record "aiming to express inverted images, optical illusions, and the sense of déjà vu that modern people can get in the city." Technodrome is constructed around innovative minimalism, a robotic funk orchestrated by bass lines and percussions, and monochrome moods. It's the most intriguing project in Hamase's discography, a ghostly ride set in '90s urban landscape, where repetition sets the groove and brings things to life, echoing Hamase's deeper subtext for his compositions: "and attempt to recreate (as metaphor) the time in our mother's womb." The album was initially released in 1993 by Newsic, the cult label started by Tokyo's Wacoal Art Center (also known as Spiral), home, notably, of Yoshio Ojima who co-produced the album. It is now reissued in conjunction with Motohiko Hamase's #Notes of Forestry (1988) and Anecdote (WRWTFWW 036CD/LP) albums. The album is sourced from original masters and available on CD and vinyl for the first time ever. Includes liner notes from the artist.
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CD
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STUDIOMUL 010CD
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Studio Mule present a re-recording of Motohiko Hamase's Remiscence, originally issued in 1986. Remiscence scores a decent prize at online vinyl-selling platforms and it is worth every penny! It's a perfect "refuge from nasty reality", as the glorious British 20jazzfunkgreats blog once said. And it comes from a man that knows his trade: bass playing. An artisan on his instrument, Hamase also wrote many theoretical books in his more than four decades-long career. In the 1970's Hamase was no stranger to Tokyo's vibrant jazz scene. Together with jazz pianist Tsuyoshi Yamamoto and jazz-rock guitarist Kazumi Watanabe, he played in the Isao Suzuki sextet and was part of their landmark jazz-funk album Ako's Dream (1976). In the following years, he also played on records like Mikio Masuda's Latin-funk-jazz gem Moon Stone (1978) or Japanese female jazz singer, actress, and essayist Minami Yasuda's last album Moritato (1978). In the early 1980s, his work shifted from pure jazz to electronic and ambient spheres and he started to compose his own music around his deeply emotional bass playing. From 1985 to 1993, Hamase released five solo albums. Just recently Studio Mule issued his first one, Intaglio (STUDIOMUL 008CD/LP, 2018), in a new recording that sounds as stunning as the original release from 1986. Reminiscence is his second work for the celebrated defunct Japanese New Age record label Shi Zen, follows in a fresh shape on Studio Mule. As does the original, it features deeply touching moments of sheer pristine perfection and distributes Hamase's inner emotional landscape with a bewitching bass performance. A soothing beauty of an album, it reflects Hamase's search for spaces of melancholy, a rhizome of soundscapes that capture, settle and sound elusive while simultaneously being awe-inspiring. As with Intaglio, the 66-year-old artist gathered again some befriended musicians, rented a studio, staged his gear and recorded most of the original Reminiscence material anew, while keeping the moving musical story arc of the original album alive in a fresh wrapping. The result is a dazzling, blue mood seething, a strongly hypnotic long-player, full of personality and hybrid ambient electronic jazz spheres that open doors to unheard sound universes and that perfectly work for all those stress-relieved souls that love the disclosure of the mind and seek for a "refuge from nasty reality".
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LP
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STUDIOMUL 010LP
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LP version. Studio Mule present a re-recording of Motohiko Hamase's Remiscence, originally issued in 1986. Remiscence scores a decent prize at online vinyl-selling platforms and it is worth every penny! It's a perfect "refuge from nasty reality", as the glorious British 20jazzfunkgreats blog once said. And it comes from a man that knows his trade: bass playing. An artisan on his instrument, Hamase also wrote many theoretical books in his more than four decades-long career. In the 1970's Hamase was no stranger to Tokyo's vibrant jazz scene. Together with jazz pianist Tsuyoshi Yamamoto and jazz-rock guitarist Kazumi Watanabe, he played in the Isao Suzuki sextet and was part of their landmark jazz-funk album Ako's Dream (1976). In the following years, he also played on records like Mikio Masuda's Latin-funk-jazz gem Moon Stone (1978) or Japanese female jazz singer, actress, and essayist Minami Yasuda's last album Moritato (1978). In the early 1980s, his work shifted from pure jazz to electronic and ambient spheres and he started to compose his own music around his deeply emotional bass playing. From 1985 to 1993, Hamase released five solo albums. Just recently Studio Mule issued his first one, Intaglio (STUDIOMUL 008CD/LP, 2018), in a new recording that sounds as stunning as the original release from 1986. Reminiscence is his second work for the celebrated defunct Japanese New Age record label Shi Zen, follows in a fresh shape on Studio Mule. As does the original, it features deeply touching moments of sheer pristine perfection and distributes Hamase's inner emotional landscape with a bewitching bass performance. A soothing beauty of an album, it reflects Hamase's search for spaces of melancholy, a rhizome of soundscapes that capture, settle and sound elusive while simultaneously being awe-inspiring. As with Intaglio, the 66-year-old artist gathered again some befriended musicians, rented a studio, staged his gear and recorded most of the original Reminiscence material anew, while keeping the moving musical story arc of the original album alive in a fresh wrapping. The result is a dazzling, blue mood seething, a strongly hypnotic long-player, full of personality and hybrid ambient electronic jazz spheres that open doors to unheard sound universes and that perfectly work for all those stress-relieved souls that love the disclosure of the mind and seek for a "refuge from nasty reality".
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CD
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STUDIOMUL 008CD
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Studio Mule present a re-recording of Motohiko Hamase's Intaglio, recorded in Japan, 2018. Originally released in 1986. Currently the rediscovery of long-forgotten Japanese electronic, jazz, and new age music is at a peak like never before. Although many reissues have already hit record stores, the large, diverse musical culture of Japan still got some gems in store that are really missing. For example, the work of Japanese bass player, new age and ambient musician Motohiko Hamase. When the now 66-year old artist started to be a professional musician in the 1970s, he quickly gained success as a versed studio instrumentalist and started to be part of the great modern jazz Isao Suzuki Sextet where he played with legends like pianist Tsuyoshi Yamamoto or fusion guitar one-off-a-kind Kazumi Watanabe. He was also in the studio when legendary Japanese jazz records like Straight Ahead of Takao Uematsu (1977), Moritato For Osada of jazz singer Minami Yasuda (1978), or Moon Stone of synthesizer, piano, and organ wizard Mikio Masuda (1978) were recorded. In the 1980s Hamase began to slowly drift away from jazz and drowned his musical vision in new age, ambient, and experimental electronic spheres in which he incorporated his funky meditative way of playing the bass above airy sounds and arrangements. His first solo album Intaglio is not only a milestone of Japanese new age ambient, it is also a fresh sonic journey in jazz that does not sound like jazz at all. First issued by the Japanese label Shi Zen, the record had a decent success in Japan and by some overseas fans of music from the far east. With seven haunting, stylistically hard-to-pigeonhole compositions, Hamase drifts around new age worlds with howling wind sounds, gentle bass pickings, and discreet drums that mind remind listeners of the power of Japanese taiko percussions. Also, propulsive fourth-world-grooves call the tune and all compositions avoid a foreseeable structure. At large his albums seem to be improvised and yet are deeply composed. Music that works like shuffling through an imaginary sound library full of spiritual deepness, that even spreads, in its shaky moments, some profound relaxing moods. The release marks another highlight in Studio Mule's mission to excavate neglected Japanese music that somehow has more to offer in the present age than at the time of his original birth.
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LP
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STUDIOMUL 008LP
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2024 repress; LP version. Studio Mule present a re-recording of Motohiko Hamase's Intaglio, recorded in Japan, 2018. Originally released in 1986. Currently the rediscovery of long-forgotten Japanese electronic, jazz, and new age music is at a peak like never before. Although many reissues have already hit record stores, the large, diverse musical culture of Japan still got some gems in store that are really missing. For example, the work of Japanese bass player, new age and ambient musician Motohiko Hamase. When the now 66-year old artist started to be a professional musician in the 1970s, he quickly gained success as a versed studio instrumentalist and started to be part of the great modern jazz Isao Suzuki Sextet where he played with legends like pianist Tsuyoshi Yamamoto or fusion guitar one-off-a-kind Kazumi Watanabe. He was also in the studio when legendary Japanese jazz records like Straight Ahead of Takao Uematsu (1977), Moritato For Osada of jazz singer Minami Yasuda (1978), or Moon Stone of synthesizer, piano, and organ wizard Mikio Masuda (1978) were recorded. In the 1980s Hamase began to slowly drift away from jazz and drowned his musical vision in new age, ambient, and experimental electronic spheres in which he incorporated his funky meditative way of playing the bass above airy sounds and arrangements. His first solo album Intaglio is not only a milestone of Japanese new age ambient, it is also a fresh sonic journey in jazz that does not sound like jazz at all. First issued by the Japanese label Shi Zen, the record had a decent success in Japan and by some overseas fans of music from the far east. With seven haunting, stylistically hard-to-pigeonhole compositions, Hamase drifts around new age worlds with howling wind sounds, gentle bass pickings, and discreet drums that mind remind listeners of the power of Japanese taiko percussions. Also, propulsive fourth-world-grooves call the tune and all compositions avoid a foreseeable structure. At large his albums seem to be improvised and yet are deeply composed. Music that works like shuffling through an imaginary sound library full of spiritual deepness, that even spreads, in its shaky moments, some profound relaxing moods. The release marks another highlight in Studio Mule's mission to excavate neglected Japanese music that somehow has more to offer in the present age than at the time of his original birth.
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