However, its re-issue here, the first on vinyl since the 1976 original, is very welcome, and highlights both his versatility and, at the same time, the breadth of his musical interests, from modern classical (as an undergraduate, he paid close attention to the likes of Stockhausen) to what would become known, not very satisfactorily, as world music reflecting his postgraduate studies in ethno-musicology. He won an Oscar in 1988 for The Last Emperor, though for many in Japan and in the West, his finest work was in the world of electronica that was so influential in the development of synth-pop. It’s a beautiful contrast to the energy of “Aya” and, indeed, the subsequent two tracks, “Musique Differencielle 1°” and “Musique Differencielle 2°” develop along more familiar Eastern patterns of sound that, nevertheless, incorporate some effectively jagged sonics and rhythms more suggestive of aspects of Western Modernism that one hears in the work of some post-War composers such as Ligeti.
Author: exy
Published at: 2026-04-04 20:45:21
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