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FIELD 030LP
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Caught somewhere between environmental sound studies and surrealist sonic architecture, Sugai Ken helps mark the 30th release of Field Records with an ambitious new album. Commissioned by the Dutch Embassy in Tokyo, Tone River is the product of a year's intensive work between artist and label, created in part to examine the relationship between Japan and the Netherlands with regard to water management. While its doors to the Western world were closed during the 17th and 18th centuries, Japan kept abreast of Western science via a Dutch trade post in the bay of Nagasaki. When the country changed from a feudal society to a modern democracy through the turn of the 19th century, Dutch engineers lent their expertise to large-scale water management projects. One of the most prestigious projects of the time was the Tone River, which stretches 322 kilometers across Honshu, Japan's largest island. For this project, Sugai Ken traveled to three points across the Tone River and used regular, binaural and underwater microphones to record environmental sounds, seeking to express the change in landscape of the river in its flow into the Pacific Ocean. On Tone River, these varied recordings are interspersed and juxtaposed with Ken's distinctive take on synthesis, where raw and precisely sculpted textures and tones interact in stark, neutral space. On this conceptually rigorous, yet beguiling and free-flowing record, Sugai Ken glides between the elemental and hyper-synthetic in a flexible exploration of sound and story.
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CREP 055LP
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Japanese artist Sugai Ken presents a kaleidoscopic radio play inspired by the traditional Japanese art of Mingei. In Sugai Ken's own words: "In recent years I have been researching old Japanese culture and customs in order to deepen my musical production. I am still excited to find that there are many untouched roots yet to be discovered which only motivates me to pursuit my research further. As I dig deeper, I'm always struck with the general idea that 'everything has its own ground', otherwise known as rigid ideas and concepts. Indeed, it is important to have a clear ground to explore things from. Especially as our times are overloaded with too much information, things which are spoon fed to us will always be short lived, so for me it becomes a case of those rigid ideas becoming less flexible. One of the many benefits of computer music is being able to separate it from history/traditions and allowing you to simply enjoy mixing sounds and concepts, regardless of its original meaning. By being free from 'having to' make sense we can make creation much more enjoyable. When I made this album I put my priority in freedom, rather than being stuck with those rigid ideas and concepts. This way I could really enjoy and get deep into the 'mixology' of it all. Like my other works, Japanese is always a fundamental motif and I envision it like an imaginary radio drama by adding spontaneous dialogs throughout. I will be happy if listeners pay attention to these (and other) details and enjoy listening to my work." Artwork by Evan Crankshaw. Mastered and cut by Rashad Becker. Edition of 500.
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LFI 001LP
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Debut vinyl release for this curious Japanese producer combining electronics with subtle field recordings across a gorgeous set of arrangements. A maiden voyage too for the Lullabies For Insomniacs label. Sugai Ken is an electronic musician based in Kanagawa, Japan. Using synthesis and recordings of his daily surroundings, he conjures the subtle and profound ambience of the Japanese nightscape. His music evokes a nocturnal peace that reflects the intangible qualities of his memory and dreams. 鯰上 - On The Quakefish is an immersive exploration displaying a rugged invention, compressed into short bursts of electrifying genius. The release represents a romantic desire for dispersion into nature. Earthy as well as ethereal in his appreciation for figurative beauty, Sugai Ken summons the Zen tradition of Satori. He invites one to listen with a sense of intimacy and introspection, reflecting on the extremes of subtlety.
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