yas-kaz: jomon-sho

Glossy Mistakes present a reissue of Yas-Kaz's Jomon-Sho, originally released in 1985. Peaceful, percussive, and idyllic new age from Japanese composer and student of gamelan music, Yas-Kaz. This seminal album is a cornerstone to understand the Japanese ambient and environmental movement. He rose to musical prominence composing for the dance troupe led by one of the founders of Butoh, Tatsumi Hijikata. The album features a wide range of entirely acoustic instruments and field recordings and was made for stage performance by Sankai Juku Butoh Group at Theatre de la Ville, Paris. Yas-Kaz has influenced quite a few important artists (Ryuichi Sakamoto, Midori Takada, Geino Yamashiro-Gumi) over four decades. However, he remains somewhat "unsung": Glossy Mistakes unveils his art throughout this special edition. His composition/music is not focused on any specific genre/style of music either. Especially in his work for dance theatre he often delivers bare abstract sound/resonance which might not be recognized as "musical" from the Western perspective. He lived in Bali, Indonesia in the '70s introducing the gamelan Balinese sounds and culture to Ryuichi Sakamoto (collaborated in the album Esperanto), Midori Takada, Shoji Yamashiro (leader of Geino Yamashiro-Gumi who later created the soundtrack for Akira) among others. A unique and unseen masterpiece unveiled again throughout a remastered edition.