Various Artists: Virtual Dreams II, Ambient Explorations in the House & Techno Age, Japan 1993-1999 Album Review

Rave culture originated in Japan late, gaining popularity in the early 90s, when club music was changing abroad. Having reached the point of critical mass, dance genres sought to reinvent themselves. Some acts slowed down the momentum and turned their attention to ravers seeking an escape from the floor’s energy. British duet KLF after returning from the stormy stadium, they helped the pioneers and dreamed of something more woolly surrounding house. Not long after, Warp released the first of these Artificial intelligence series, starting what would later become known as IDM. These recordings caused a stir among Japanese producers who were preparing to create their own scene from scratch.

Virtual Dreams II: Exploring the Environment in the House and Techno Era, Japan 1993—​1999compiled by record store owner Eiji Taniguchi and late Music From Memory co-founder Jamie Tiller tells the story of how Japanese DJs and dancers found their own way onto the dance floor. These early forays into techno were quieter affairs than their Western counterparts. Ambient sound design provided an interesting detour in European and American dance music, but it was on the minds of many Japanese artists from the beginning. Katsuya Hironaka’s “Pause,” for example, features a four-on-the-floor percussive rhythm, but only briefly, drawing your ear instead to the shimmering tones underneath and the soft roar of the field recording as it falls away. This is the beginning of something new, as well as the continuation of Japanese surrounding boom from the previous decade.

One artist who played an important role in these early years is Ken Ishii, who set the tone with his slower, more mental approach. In 1992, while still a college student, he mailed a demo tape to Belgian techno titans R&S— and, to his surprise, the label signed him. His records began to spin all over the world, and he was appointed as an ambassador for his country’s dance scene. Ishiya’s decision to release his second album, A link to the differenceas the flagship release on the Japanese imprint Elevated was significant; this gave the label a boost, providing funds and name recognition to seek out new talent. Among those early signees were Akio and Okihide, who had themselves achieved minor international success on the British label Having risen high. On “Phoenix at Desert,” they eschew propulsive rhythms almost entirely, taking Ishii’s toolbox of ringing tones and stretching them to infinity. Even then, a common musical language was formed.