MattandtheJays' Ambience: 2019

July 9, 2019

Ken Muramatsu - Green Thoughts

Did the Air(tv) anime get a second season? Cause this is it’s OST. Ken Muramatsu’s jazz shaded classical compositions infuse a backdrop of drum machines and synthetic lower bottom bass sounds with crisp keys to form Green Thoughts, an anonymity of a sound at times imitating summer days or tree bark through the longings of major 7 and minor 9 voicings straightly laid out.

Alternatively, Green Thoughts = Plantasia? Either way, we are blessed with such masterpiece.

1. 緑のささやく島

A radiant mid-morning at an anime park; Misuzu’s hidden Summer. Flippant bold blocked rising sun spirals happiness throughout the Air while faceless strangers blend into the living painting. The day is healthy. The day is filled with major 7’s and minor 9’s, but we are groovy.

Chord progression includes lots of diatonic jazz stuff in C major. Lots of D-7, G13, G (b13), E-7, F maj 7.

Key change to Db major towards end of jam.

2. 出逢いと別れ

Misuzu’s Stoll. A déjà-vu of a moment that has been tinted with foreshadow unknowingly because the future hasn’t happened yet. Light and breezy.

Lots of chill jazz 7^th chords. D maj7 , B – 7, F# - 7, A -7 D7, G maj…etc. etc.

3. 陽だまり

The pre-tragedy, Misuzu’s confession. Night time, deeply threaded conversation of care and emotion between two.

4. いつか森の中で

WOW screech of the midnight Bats, minor. Misuzu’s lively night. Maybe it’s Potato’s disappearance. Ya silly pup where you off to?

Ends like a track on Budd’s Avalon Sutra.

5. グリーン・シャワー

Misuzu’s rainbow. A dazzling morning spirits us with rainbow. We are invigorated in the same way of a plant’s posture. Echo baby!

“You know I’m jokin’, babe?”

6. 晴れた午後には

Misuzu’s puppet show. Wonky donky button nosed puppets sloppily perform Greek tragedy. We are doofuses, we are comedic. Or, some sort of argumentative conversation.

7. 哀しみは喜びとともに

Misuzu’s nightmare. The bizarre, stressful kind of nightmare, not gory or monster types. The verse has the tone, “and that is what happens to the boy who cries ‘wolf’”, describing a moral to the story after a negative outcome. Tan brown, Walsh faerie tale-ish.

8. 水平線の見える部屋

Misuzu’s horizon. Sun peeps through blinds and we have a morning.

Do a lot of these anime inspired jazz/classical soundtracks tend to be in non-jazz keys (Bb, Eb, F)?? Does this album beckon a resurgence of Key anime releases? The world may never know. Green Thoughts is a digitally drawn upbeat chillax wonderland of the paradox of Summer day anime land where it never feels too hot. Keeping it cool Mr. Muramatsu.

July 2, 2019

Chihei Hatakeyama - Dark Sea

Chihei @ discogs.com

Chihei @ bandcamp.com

Chihei's official page

Swirling souls maelstromate back to the source. Whirlpools and whirlpools of recycled life energy funneling towards the next level of existence.

Holy Celestial envoy trumpets the transition of old life into new. 20 angels in major.

Dark Siders plummet upon the pipe organ.

As the energies blend towards the funnel, memories of past lives mesh and overlap each other.

Every note of life is oozing out at once, gelatinous, amorphous, slimy, goopy, glowy translucent consciousness aural smoothie.

June 3, 2019

Takashi Kokubo (小久保隆) - Solar Wind ～ Mystery Of Aurora ～ (太陽風～オーロラの神秘～)

Takashi Kokubo (小久保隆) - Solar Wind ～ Mystery Of Aurora

Kokubo @ discogs.com

1. White Ambient

Night swirls and mixes with a charming breeze as they both meander their respective paths. Light hearted mischief sprinkles from above encouraging fox to tease middle aged men on their way home, walking by the field of tall grass.

Atop the hill, a view spanning downward and outward of perky swaying grass blades in the blue of 8pm mid spring followed by endless oceans, reflecting moon and stars; double cosmos. The water is calm, rivaled only by the placid sky. Small stars twinkle, winkle, wink for the people below.

Fire flies hover on the slope just out of reach above the grass. Spring Peepers provide a thin background chorus, somewhat mimicking the starlight above.

White Ambient has a long, slow form that repeats a bunch, key changes, repeats on that, then goes back to original key. Takashi Kokubo likes to create intricate soundscape swirls and shift them entirely.

The A section is as follows:

||: C maj 7 | C maj 7 | C maj 7 | C maj 7 |

|B-11 | B-11 | B7 | B7 |

|E - | E - | E - | E - |

|Bb maj7 (#11) | Bb maj7 (#11) | G7 | G7 :||

Lots of cool stuff going on here. The intro echo sparkle riff plays G, D, F, E, D, C, D, B G. Pretty cool how Kokubo outlines G7 (G D F) over the opening C maj 7 chord. At the end of that riff he outlines G maj arpeggio (D B G). Neat stuff. The emphasis in the melody is G major, even though the harmony is C major 7. Thumbs up (n.n)b !

Over the C major chord there’s a wind instrument riff that trills around with B, C, B G and let’s that ring out for a while.

During the B-11 chord (Could be Bsus4), some riff emphasizes A and E notes, which then resolve down to D# for the B7 chord.

C major 7 comes up again and Kokubo plays some cool voicing that sounds like world map theme in Legend of Mana.

E- chord time, some vague descending 3rds riff happening briefly.

Super cool half step resolve to Eb major 7. There’s a melody in here playing G, F, Eb, F, G, Bb A G. Nails the G right when the chord changes to G maj /B (I think that’s what that is, hard to pin point it, very misty).

More voice leading, B in the bass goes down to Bb and resolves to Bb major 7 chord. There’s a brief Lydian melody here that, similar to the previous chord change, resolves down into G 7.

And that’s the form! After this wondrous summer breeze passes by a few times, star wash fades out on the G7 and BOOM, he shifts the entire form up a whole step. Instead of starting on C major 7, song starts on D major 7. Big dramatic key change, and the higher key changes the timbre of the full piece, some chords stand out a little better/differently.

After a few repeats in D major, song shifts back down to original C major. This happens a few times, finally White Ambient fades out on G7.

2. Solar Wind

The middle aged man, lost in day dream gazing out at the sea – star divide, awakens and realizes he’s late for dinner; his wife waiting for him. With a lighthearted heightened pace, he continues his way home.

The blue of night conforms to black, visibility is low and blurry; the blurry distant amber apartment lights crisp in the air the nearer they become. Crystals of clarity solidify and evaporate here and there in the air.

Lots of repeating in Solar Wind. Got some fast walking paced guitar bumping here. Form is as follows:

|| D7sus | D7sus | D7sus | D7sus |

|C7sus | C7sus |C7sus |C7sus ||

This bit repeats for the entirety of Solar Wind. The D7sus voicing uses notes like D, A, B, G, B ,C , and sometimes E. This pattern shifts up and down accordingly to fit the other sus chords.

Some choir/synth pad sounds creep up throughout, and all the various leads and percussive parts emphasis the sussy notesl the 4ths and 13ths. Prolly this song is a little more contained since the previous one was such a wild adventure.

3. Catalyst

All is silent in the depths of night. Every conscious being is asleep. The earth slowly inhales and exhales, subtle winds flow down empty streets, weaving between trees, scattering the occasional leaf.

A fantasy triumphs briefly in the dreams of children accompanied by innocent talking in sleep and shifting in bed.

Cooling, restful darkness envelopes all in her womb. Like a plant gathering sunlight to grow, everything is in a state of inactivity, of filtering away clutter and brain moosh, of emptying the mind to renew itself for tomorrow.

Catalyst, maybe named for that intense end section, is a fiery humid final excursion in the Solar Wind soundfield. The form:

|| G maj add 9 | D-9 | F maj7 (#11) | C maj 7 |

| G maj add 9 | D-9 | F maj7 (#11) | C maj 7 ||

||G maj 7 | G maj 7 | G maj 7 | G maj 7 |

| C- | C- | F#- | F# - |

|E maj 7/G# | E maj7/G# | F# - |F# - ||

Then repeats from the top. But this time when it reached the end, goes to :

||C- |C- | F#- | F#- |

|C maj 7/E | C maj7/E | F#7 | F#7 ||

Please excuse if my repetitions are off. Trippy song form, lots of arid vibes happening in that minor chord section, some super wonky changes. What a scorcher to end it on!

In that middle G major 7 stretch, melody is something like , G, F#, E, D, C ,B , B, C, D, E , B, descending for that first bit, then ascending. Then it follows the same pattern but starts on the B note. Later when this section repeats it’s accompanied by a harmonizing line in 3rds. Kokubo likes his internal structures.

At the end, we get another star wash fade out and we are left with a brief Aurora Borealis as the Solar Wind pulls in tide.

April 22, 2019

William Basinski - Watermusic II

Basinski @ discogs.com

Official Webpage

Arpeggiatic Pacific currents turquoise blend into sky and descent through the fresh water ocean. Like glass ripples up above impossible to distinguish layers of atmosphere from the liquid purity; peacefully partially submerged partially floating. Delving into drinkable, breathable water.

Sun rays penetrate through fluid curtains. 3D 1990’s Final Fantasy death aquatic burial. Ancient wisdom saturate all encompassing currents and streams. Totally lose sense of body, sheer density and soothing of the water dissolves physical and ego boundaries and we become a gelatinous unity.

Undulate through cross current pockets of velvet fuzz feeling subtle warmth like a kitten laying in the sun.

Flow somewhat deeper somewhat more still where light shies. Bodiless, ambiguous form transperse experiencing cool and warm simultaneously. Sensations cease to be put into words, formless unity grows and we become part of all. Divided and peacefully overtaken by water, our cells now solution with the entirety of existence via water. Such as all colors of light spectrum combined become white, so do all experiences combine into spiritual wordlessness and cosmic All.

In between collective experiential existence, more feelings specific to your ego briefly emerge and pass like roaring rapids. The time spent with old friends, two, five, maybe ten years ago. Where you were then versus where you are now. Every life you’ve touched or influenced. Every bit of interconnectedness: Close friends spent time with daily, shop clerks you were friendly with but never knew on a deeper level (a smile can mean a lot). The countless anonymous strangers you passed on the street, the unknown people who’ve overheard your inane conversations with friends, how even our clothing affects the people we experience day to day but never directly interact with. The lettuce, tomatoes, chicken, cereal, clothing, entertainment goods, the people behind the scenes who make that happen. The farmer in Mexico who grew that tomato for you to eat. He’s middle aged now, knows how to use all sorts of complicated farming tools and machines. He has a wife and children he’s supporting. Probably got a significant spot in his community. But he was young once, growing up and getting an education, helping his parents in any way he could. An entire infinitely complex story behind that one person who brought you the tomato. Within our egos we are bound by the web of interconnectivity. These experiences wash over us like the Pacific currents. Then, dissolve again into the egoless white light prismatic combination of the cosmic All.

The water becomes more still yet and we nearly motionlessly drift amidst this breathable, drinkable, heavy comfortable fresh water oceanic liquid.

Slight ascension at a leisurely speed, like we are exiting the life stream. Bodily feeling gradually returns, our physical outlines solidify once more, vague feeling of warmth present. Pleasant steady upward drift. Light becomes stronger and the surface of the water is within eye sight. Distinction between divide of ocean/sky becomes visible. Turquoise blues, pastel blues, liquid curtains.

Tonally the piece centers around C major. There’s a super low bass note of C humming in the background that seems to meander between C and A. It’s hard to hear it clearly, there’s just a low presence that jellies itself between those two notes.

One of the main riffs is a sustained A, B, down to G. Then repeats as A, B, up to E. This is sometimes doubled in a super high octave.

Another main wave is a quickly descending sloshy arpeggio. It’s very transparent, very fast, and the notes blur together really well so it’s hard to tell exactly what’s going on. I think the notes are something like B, A, E, A, all descending. This theme pans between both ears and fades in and out throughout.

Less active parts I’ve noticed are a sustained E note, a subtle E to F trill, and another trill of A to B, this one very high pitched.

I’m sure there’s more to this song than these few parts. The way it’s mixed is so gelatinous and difficult to discern. Super cool stuff =)

MattandtheJays' Ambience