(2020) Hiroshi Yoshimura - Green (1986, Reissue)


Review:
The works of Japanese ambient music pioneer Hiroshi Yoshimura have undergone somewhat of a renaissance since the 2017 reissue of his acclaimed 1982 standout, Music for Nine Postcards. A beloved figure whose tranquil sound design and environmental music graced a variety of unique platforms from the mid-’70s until his death from cancer in 2003, Yoshimura’s status outside of Japan has largely been that of a cult figure. Making its first appearance since 1986, courtesy of Light in the Attic Records, is the original mix of his fourth album, Green, a minimalist collection of environmental synthesizer music that the composer once described as relating to “the comfortable scenery of the natural cycle known as GREEN,” rather than the color itself. Indeed, these eight pieces resonate with a sense of leafy well-being and new growth, traveling unobstructed across the serene soundscapes emitting from Yoshimura’s pleasantly dated synths and sequencers. The glowing digital tones of the then-ubiquitous Yamaha DX7 land with the purity of fresh droplets of rain on songs like “Sheep” and the gently percussive title track. Recorded at his own studio, Hiroh 806, over the winter of 1985-1986, Yoshimura’s movements are slow and patient with plenty of space in between the well-placed clusters of notes and chords, relying on the evolution of feelings more than direct melodies. Initially released on vinyl in Japan, a different CD mix of Green later found its way to the American new age market bearing an added layer of environmental sounds (rain, running water, birdsong, etc.), marking a then-popular fad that had already been established in Japan for a number of years. Yoshimura himself preferred this music-only mix, which benefits from a greater sense of clarity and leaves the implied thunderstorms and soughing winds to the imagination where they belong.


Media Report:
Genre: ambient
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits