Satoshi Ashikawa – Still Way

Description

WRWTFWW Records is honored to announce the much anticipated reissue of Satoshi Ashikawas undeniable classic of Japanese environmental/ambient/minimalism, Still Way (Wave Notation 2). The album, available on vinyl (first time since 1982) and digipack CD (with one bonus track), comes with a cover artwork by Hiroshi Yoshimura and liner notes by Midori Takada, Satoshi Ashikawa himself, and Irish producer Gareth Quinn Redmond (whose Still Way-inspired album Laistigh den Ghleo is being released simultaneously on WRWTFWW).

Initially released in 1982 as part of the Wave Notation series*, Still Way is, without a doubt, a seminal Japanese environmental/ambient/minimalism album, often mentioned alongside Midori Takadas Through Looking Glass and Hiroshi Yoshimuras Green as one of the genres most important pieces.

“Like the moment of stillness, after the wind passes through the garden, when the rain stops for a brief second” Notably inspired by Erik Saties Furniture Music and Brian Enos ambient work, Satoshi Ashikawa aimed to compose music “intended to be listened to in a casual manner, as a musical landscape or a sound objectnot something that would stimulate listeners but music that should drift like smoke and become part of the environment.” The result is simply phenomenal, subtle minimalism and emotional elegance exquisitely orchestrated by Satoshi Ishikawa and his team consisting of his wife Masami Ashikawa (on flute), Midori Takada (on vibraphone), Yuko Utsumi (on harp), Tomoko Sono (on piano), and Junko Arase (on vibraphone). Bandcamp