Good morning. We’re off next week.

Today we’re listening to Michiru Aoyama, a prolific Japanese ambient musician based in Kyoto. He started playing piano at age 3 and picked up guitar in high school, eventually gravitating toward a processed, atmospheric sound. We’re playing two of his many, many records that embody this: The Sound is Shining from 2013 and Daily Ambient from 2019. We’ll leave you with this quote he gave to Rusted Tone Recordings:

I go to a temple in the early morning of the weekend. Then, I practice Zen Buddhist meditation for about three hours. The heart becomes quiet, like the surface of water which is not choppy, but still. All environmental sound and non-sound begin to have a meaning to me. Soon the sound begins to shine.

The Sound is Shining - Michiru Aoyama (30m, no vocals)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music / Bandcamp / Tidal

Daily Ambient - Michiru Aoyama (120m, no vocals)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music / Bandcamp / Tidal

Have a really nice Wednesday.