Japanese “ambient” bricolage producer Meitei
One of Zaira’s favorite books is “The Sound of Silence” by Katrina Goldsaito
About a young boy in Tokyo who loves sounds, and learns about the concept of “ma” the silence or constitutive pause/break between sounds
In a postface, Goldsaito describes her father’s friendship with Toru Takemitsu, the composer of many of Kurosawa scores
He was their next-door neighbor during her childhood in Toyko
Takemitsu used to say the second most beautiful sound is take-take, the sound of wind blowing through bamboo
And the most beautiful is ma
A positive space devoid of content
But his work was also attentive to “found sounds”
Including the hum of the city
And the carefully crafted experience of Japanese gardens, which inspired his music
I don’t know if Meitei considers himself a protege of Takemitsu
But his soundscapes seem to capture beautiful and mundane (beautiful because mundane) moods and scenes
https://youtu.be/PMbQ0l7bmrY
Another one of my favorites
This one with water (waves, rain)
Yoshio, the protagonist of Sound of Silence, delights in raindrops, horns, koto players, footsteps, and trains
For reasons which are probably particular, Chouchin to me brings out the sensations of crunching steps on snow when you walk alone on late Chicago winter nights
With the blanket of snow reflecting back the yellow street lights, making an eerie but comforting glow
Like a pseudo-day
Or bizarre underworld that isn’t dark like in the movies
Ukiyo-ye-inspired cover art is dope, too
The person behind Meitei looks exactly like you expect he would
Goldsaito’s book implores young readers to become hunters of sounds, including the sound of ma
A worthy endeavor