"Shiosai RADIO" is a playlist curated by musicians and DJs, featuring songs inspired by the ocean.

For Vol. 2, we asked H. Takahashi, a composer and architect who also runs the record store "Kankyo Records" (Sangenjaya, Tokyo), to select the items.

Since the 2010s, he has garnered support from around the world as a leading figure in ambient music, and has released works with a sea theme, such as "Sea Meditation" under his solo name and "Sea & Forest" with the unit Atoris. He has selected a collection of ambient music that evokes a sense of returning to one's DNA, offering a deeply immersive experience. We interviewed him at "Kankyo Records," the shop he owns, amidst the scent of potpourri.

The vast ocean, DNA, indigenous ambient music

—How did you interact with the sea when you were a child?

I grew up in an inland town, so there wasn't a sea near my house. The closest thing I could see was probably the sea in an industrial area. Factories lined the bay area, and the air wasn't very good, so I didn't have a very positive impression of the sea back then.

Right now, creating ocean sounds as a producer (expressing images with electronic sounds, etc.) might be considered a "dream." When I travel to Okinawa or overseas, I see beautiful oceans and get images from them, but when I create sounds myself, the main focus becomes "the place where I want to be," "the place I want to go," and "the place where I want to stay."

—Is Kankyo Records also making proposals based on "aspirations"?

Kankyo Records is a bit more pragmatic (rather than being driven by personal "admiration"), focusing on ambient music and records, CDs, and cassettes for listening in living environments. It's about proposing elements that create a space, including lighting and sound.

—In the store, you play music using ADAM Audio's "D3V" speakers.

These are called "monitor speakers," designed to give you a better "visual" view of the sound, and I think it might be interesting to try listening with them.

—So, you're saying you can "see" the sound visually?

If you position the speakers correctly and adjust your ear position properly, you can perceive sound in three dimensions. You can tell "the sound is somewhere around here."

To provide such sound experiences, we also operate a listening room called "Home Listening Room" in Nakameguro. To allow people to better appreciate sound, we use sound-absorbing materials on the walls to suppress sound reflections. Incidentally, the carpet is made from recycled nets collected from beaches in Denmark. We also hold music appreciation workshops.

—This time, you've selected music that's mainly ambient, which is suitable for that kind of listening. But what exactly does "ambient" music refer to?

To put it very simply, it's like background music. The music that plays in train stations, the background music that plays in department stores. Composer Brian Eno popularized the term "ambient," and his landmark album, "Ambient 1: Music for Airports," is music for airports.

I think ambient music today is seen as an extension of that. In a broad sense, the music played at runway shows could also be considered ambient, and it's similar to designing sounds that are appropriate for the situation.

—What kind of ocean image did you have in mind when creating this playlist?

Rather than a gentle, melody inspired by the sea, I chose a song that's more earthy and immediately evokes the raw, visceral image of the ocean. It's a sound that wells up from within, a sound that's been etched into human DNA since ancient times. Rather than a Western feel, it's somewhere between experimental and folk music. It evokes a strong image of the vast ocean rather than the sea viewed from afar.

—The first song is "Statuario" by Roméo Poirier.

Roméo originally worked as a lifeguard at a swimming pool. He loves water. He said that he recreates the feeling of sound when you're underwater in his work. For this album, he submerged waterproof speakers in water to produce sound, and then recorded it with a hydrophone (underwater microphone). I chose this song as the first track because it evokes the feeling of diving underwater and the image of entering the ocean.

—For the second song, and also for the second half of the album, you've selected songs that he worked on.

I heard that Roméo was commissioned to remix the second track, Kumi Takahara's "Sea." He said he didn't add anything new, but rather edited the elements of her original song. Roméo is interested in Kyoto's "uguisu-bari," which is a type of floor that makes a sound when you walk on it.

—Several songs by Dolphins Into the Future were also included in the playlist.

I've been a big fan of his for a long time. He's a Belgian-based composer who has been sampling and layering ocean sounds for many years. His 2019 CD, "Songs of Gold, Incandescent," features the muffled texture of underwater recordings, combined with the sounds of waves and birdsong, allowing you to fully enjoy his slightly mysterious yet nostalgic world. Incidentally, the album cover features a photograph of coral.

—This CD includes stories about recording natural sounds in various locations, an old diary describing someone traveling through the Pacific Islands listening to a radio in solitude, and even Samoan mythology. And, speaking of dolphins, just like "Dolphins Into the Future," you've also selected XYR's "Dolphin Smile."

XYR is from Russia. He composes music using electronic sounds that evoke images of the sea, and I think his approach is similar to mine. He's a very prolific ambient artist, and the album this track is on, 'Wave Tapes,' is themed around the sea.

—The composer of the last song, Coral Morphologic, is also a marine biologist in Miami, USA.

Coral Morphologic also conducts research on corals and conservation activities, and their website even provides 24-hour live streaming of coral reefs using fixed cameras. The state of the coral ecosystem affects the entire marine environment. If the water temperature rises too high, the corals bleach, making it impossible for organisms to live in them.

—Hearing you talk about it like this makes me think I can listen to the songs while also considering their background. By the way, how would you recommend listening to this playlist?

I've selected songs that evoke the feeling of the ocean, so if you darken your room and listen to them while focusing solely on the sound, perhaps before going to sleep, I think you'll have a truly immersive experience.

—Everyone, please enjoy the playlist!

TRACKLIST

Roméo Poirier – Statuario
Kumi Takahara – Sea (Romeo Poirier Rework)
AV Moves – Cuddl3
Dolphins Into the Future – Memory Of Self
XYR – Dolphin Smile
Dolphins Into the Future – Culatra Island
Coconut Dealers – Tropical Miasma 1
Dolphins Into the Future – Onset – Beyond Clouds
Roméo Poirier – Avlaki
Loris S. Sarid – Oyster Peace
Coral Morphologic & Nick Leon – Discovery

Profile
H. Takahashi | H. Takahashi

A composer and architect based in Tokyo. He has been running the record store Kankyo Records since 2021. As a composer, he has released ambient works on labels such as Where To Now? (UK), Not Not Fun (US), Dauw and Aguirre (Belgium), and White Paddy Mountain (Japan). He also performs as part of live units such as UNKNOWN ME and Atoris. In 2024, he began working as part of the unit H TO O with Kohei Oyamada, with whom he also performs in Atoris, and released their debut album Cycle on Wisdom Teeth (UK).
IG: @htakahashi

Interview and text by Hanazawa Ou
Illustration by Oki Masahide