Today’s guest deejay is Iu Takahashi.
Last May, I discovered Iu on Bandcamp’s The Best Ambient Music blog post and instantly became a fan. Iu’s songs delicately unfold as you listen to them. It feels that her music might immediately unravel with any sudden movement. Calmness and patience are required, which reinforces the experience of Iu’s gentle songs.
Iu herself does not appear in her mix, but I encourage you to listen to her new releases, both of which were released in December.
One release is her “Stay” EP from A RED THREAD. Iu made this work thinking about her grandparents, who have dementia. Both of them are now living in a facility. She stayed for a few days at their house, where no one lived, and was inspired by the clothing, dishes, and plants left there. For the sound source, she used environmental sounds coming from the house’s windows and an old electronic organ that she used to play when she was a kid. In the midst of realizing the changes in her daily life, the sounds of construction, cars, and crows cawing that may otherwise sound like noise make it feel as if time has stopped only in this house.
Iu’s second release is her “Interspace” EP from The Slow Music Movement. In these three tracks, she intentionally created gaps by reducing the number of notes, and she wanted to enjoy the coincidence and awareness with the outside sounds.
I can’t think of a better way to be in the New Year than listening to Iu’s music. And today’s mix, of course.
Before I go, I also ask that you listen to Genius and Soul, a new show that I launched with Soundwave guest deejays Fitz Gitler and Jason Smith.
Genius and Soul is a weekly show featuring jazz, Black classical music, and more, with mixes lovingly selected by our guest deejays. Our first guest is Brian Jackson, an American keyboardist, flautist, singer, composer, and producer. Brian has recorded and performed with everyone from Gil Scott-Heron to Stevie Wonder, and recently released an album with Jazz Is Dead’s Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad.
You can listen to our first episode on your favorite podcast app or listen here.
Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Christoph Berg.
See you then.
- Grotta Veterano “Bleiweisova Cesta i (as the snow falls)”
- Sarah Davachi “Third Hour”
- Stijn Hüwels + Tomoyoshi Date Featuring Tadahito Ichinoseki “A Distant Fire, A Distant Cloud (遠き火、遠き雲)”
- Masayoshi Fujita “Anakreon”
- baechulgi “the breath of the moon”
- Satoshi Ashikawa “Still Space”
- Emily A. Sprague “Water Memory 1”
- Yumiko Morioka “Moon Road”