ichiko hashimoto

Various Artists: Macoto Tezka Presents Reiko Okano’s Fancy Dance (ファンシイダンス) (1988)

2021/10/29

When, or if, someone would ask me what kind of album I think perfectly encapsulates the promise of ‘80s music in Japan, I’d say look no further than Macoto Tezka Presents Reiko Okano’s Fancy Dance (ファンシイダンス). As before, I’ll be the first to raise my hand and state: “If you’re looking for someone who is…
Mix. 16: Pari Shōkōgun – Japanese French Pop Music 1981-1992

2018/10/09

For my first show with French broadcaster LYL Radio I felt obliged to engage in a bit of navel-gazing. I began by asking myself: How in the world did I end up having a radio show with a French radio station? These are the things you learn to accept when life opens certain doors for…
Mix: 15. JAPANESE AMBIENT, ENVIRONMENTAL, NEW AGE & HEALING MUSIC 1980-1993 (VOL. 2, EARTH)

2018/10/05

Illustration by Laura Gomez What is “earth”? This element we can use all our senses to comprehend, means more than just that. For the second part of my series with NTS, I imagine I had an easier task imagining it musically, than “earth” illustrator Laura Gomez had to capture its spirit visually. How do you hear…
Kazutoki Umezu: Diva (1988)

2018/04/27

It’s not often you stumble upon an album quite like this one. A huge debt of thanks goes out to a fellow reader, Francis, for sharing Kazutoki Umezu’s Diva with me (the first of two, from him, I’ll share with you). I’m still grinning from end to end just looking at the credits of this…
Ichiko Hashimoto: Ichiko (1984)

2016/11/16

Ichiko Hashimoto on acoustic piano, synthesizer, and vocal – that’s what the liner notes to Ichiko Hashimoto’s one and only release on Music Interior states as musician credits. Titled Ichiko and graced by a truly autumnal album cover, it’s an album that truly sounds like it looks. Ichiko is a musician well-versed in two worlds. As a trained pianist she…