Best of 2020
As will have been obvious to anyone paying attention (is that you, mum?), we've been doing a lot of our shopping in 80s Japan of late, so it's a nice change of speed to be able to discuss something a little more contemporary from those same shores. The second release on All Night Flight and hot on the heels of the previously championed A Produce reissue, Natsu No Zenbu is a 27-track collection of Matsui and Tsuyuko's rural recordings, birthed in 2008 and originally passed on to others via CD-r as a gift to guests at their wedding. Music befittng of such a simple, gentle, elegant gesture. How times change, though i wont object to what is now a beautifully presented double LP, gatefold package through which to enjoy these sounds. And what strange, beguiling sounds they are. To these ears at least, this is music that could have come from nowhere else but Japan and it makes sense they would originate from the loving understanding and shared creative activity of a couple alone in a large house outside of the city. Honestly, I would struggle to fully understand Natsu No Zenbu (trans: All of Summer) without that context. Fans of the pastoral elegance of Pale Cocoon, World Standard and Japanese environmental music as a whole will find many elements to appreciate here (and hearing this also makes me understand why Virginia Astley is so loved in Japan), though there's also a quixotic charm to the electronic flourishes/digressions that accompany these minimal compisitions that isn't far from Yximallo (though far less abrasive) or the introverted (inverted!) aspects of Cornelius. A hearteningly romantic and emotionally pure collection that just wasn't made for these times, and conversely just might be what these times need. Return to innocence.
