2 x 12”, black vinyl, 4C gatefold
My studio is my shelter, I feel comfortable there, surrounded by wonderful inspiring machines. A small cosy room where ideas emerge, mature, morph, and solidify into their final shape. 'Studio' is the result of spending time in that space. The album's intention is simple: Presenting a beautiful personal musical journey. The creative process in itself matters to me, the interaction with my instruments, the accidental discoveries, the successful execution of a vision and anything in between.
Most of the tracks on this album got revised countless times, and then even more, once I knew in which context and order I wanted to arrange them. I have been living with my music for months now, listening, thinking, changing, diving deeper and deeper into each piece.
I love albums, they are a beautiful long-form format where each part has its place, a journey from the start till the end. Each piece has its own story, its own flavour and history.
Some of them have been with me since a while already. There is material which I created years ago for installations and music derived from previous audiovisual works, all completely ripped apart and rearranged multiple times. During their creation my pieces often turn into something completely different, they repeatedly shift from one state to another until they become solid. What I consider a core element at the beginning might be later discarded completely, and a little detail in the background might become the essence.
Many explorations ended in the trash bin before the results had a chance to be part of 'Studio'. Things did not fall into place, did not feel right.
Other compositions had to fill the void instead, some created quickly in a rush of inspiration, some slowly, shy, questioning their significance. This album did not come into existence in a hurry, it took as long as it needed. I used the time to walk around my creations, to listen to them from the distance, physically, mentally, with friends, in all kinds of different contexts. I tried to understand what I just did. I started to see patterns, hidden motifs, things that were buried in between too many layers of sound. What is essential? What is ornament? I reduced, rearranged, added again.
The closer I got to the final state of 'Studio' the more clarity I found. The inherent doubts and the nagging voices from the inside got more quiet, and a sense of achievement started to manifest itself. More and more details just fell into place. And now it is done. After making electronic music since almost thirty years I don't care anymore about genres, about how to label things. It is music, my own personal music, and that's it. Call it electronica if you wish.
Process Notes
The music on this album has been constructed in Ableton Live. Most of the sounds have been created with my collection of beloved hardware synthesisers and effects, often further processed until something completely different did emerge. Sometimes I spend days in the studio just recording sounds or creating new presets, without already having a composition in mind. A few selected musical instruments contributed significantly to the palette of this album; a New England Digital Synclavier II, which also served as inspiration for the artwork, a Sequential Prophet VS, which is present on all Monolake albums since 1996, a Yamaha SY77, Linn Drum, and the Oberheim Xpander. And then there is Operator in Ableton Live, which I developed in 2004 and still love to use, and a lot of the other effects and instruments in the software. And of course my Granulator III instrument, and the PitchLoop89 audio effect. The final sonic world is often the result of radical processing of these elements, via filtering, pitch shifting, time stretching and other types of processing, both in Live and with my hardware. The good old Alesis Quadraverb deserves an honorary mention here, so does the AMS RMX 16.
Artwork
The cover combines a few complex elements. A composition of various lichen photographs, and a computational noise field that cuts rivers into the structure, where the inner artwork of the album shines through: The inside of the CD package and the gatefold vinyl cover shows a non-existing musical instrument, based on the user interface of the Synclavier II. I've always been fond of its futuristic button matrix with red LEDs, which conjures a sense of nostalgia for early computer systems. But I wanted more than just a photograph of it. Instead, I created a collage that not only consists of its existing controls but also integrated additional features it never possessed, though it might have in a subsequent iteration. In essence, I crafted a vision of a future that never materialized.
Geeky detail: When a Synclavier II is turned on, and the connected mainframe computer did not boot yet, the LEDs in the buttons light up in random patterns. The imaginary version of it does the same.
Track Listing:
01 The Elders Disagree
02 Thru Stalactites
03 Signals
04 Cute Little Aliens
05 Intermezzo
06 Global Transport
07 Stasis Field
08 Prime Lundy
09 Red Alphonso
10 Eclipse

Composed, mixed and produced by Robert Henke 2024.. More

Triple gatefold heavyweight 180g vinyl, Remastered original LP , Incl. 5 unreleased tracks released for the 1st time on vinyl`see tracklist below for details!


"A mesmerizing Japanese ambient techno masterpiece that that completely rewires how you perceive music" Electronic Beats

"A mountainous Masterpiece. A powerful testament to rave culture's establishment and the birth of a new scene in Japan emerging in the mid '90s. One of Yokota's most celebrated work that merges Japanese new age and minimal techno"
Alex From Tokyo (Japan Vibrations, world famous, Paris)


GENRE/S: Techno, Acid, Ambient

New liner notes by Alex From Tokyo


On July 26th Susumu Yokota's venerated 1994 classic 'Acid Mt. Fuji' is reissued in expanded, deluxe fashion, as part of the 30th anniversary celebrations of the label that originally presented it. Japan's Musicmine - specifically it's electronic subsidiary Sublime Records - released the album on June 29th 1994, simultaneously with Ken Ishii's 'Reference To Difference', as their inaugural joint offering.

'Acid Mt. Fuji' is an enchanting mix of mystical ambient acid and futurist minimal techno, taking the listeners on a psychedelic pilgrimage, where 303, synths and electronic percussion are scented with reverb, echo and forest recordings. Merging Japanese new age and sparse electronica, the recording is free, organic, and energized - proffering a unique blend of early 90s western styles and the essence of his home country.

Yokota originally planned an ambient record, but 'Acid Mt. Fuji' evolved into a concept work featuring the Roland TB-303, which he recorded live at home alongside a sampler, yielding experimental and innovative results.

The longplayer found its muse in the famed 18th-19th century artist Hokusai's red rendition of Mt. Fuji, known as 'Red Fuji' or 'Akafuji'. Part of the painter's renowned 'Thirty Six Views of Mt. Fuji' series from the 1830s, 'Red Fuji' depicts the iconic sacred mountain aglow in red at dawn, symbolizing spirituality and creativity. With references to Japanese folklore, nature and shrines, tracks like 'Kinoko' and 'Meijijingu' invite the listener to immerse themselves in the album's spiritual depths.

Yokota's own homage-to-Hokusai drawing graces the record's cover, and was inspired by the concept of wa (harmony) - highlighting his diverse skills not only as a musician, but an artist and designer too.

'Acid Mt. Fuji' is a powerful testament to the establishment of rave culture in Japan, which rapidly developed within just two years, from 1992 to 1994. Largely due to praise for the breathtaking originality of the LP, within this burgeoning national techno scene, Yokota rose to prominence as one of its key figures.

He then became one of the most renowned artists to emerge from his homeland and enter the global electronic pantheon. He inspired a new wave of Japanese producers and DJs, contributing significantly to the growth of the techno movement in Japan.

Yokota was a solitary figure, an artist who expressed his life through the continuous creation of music. For those seeking something different; mystical, soothing, pristinely ergonomic and uniquely Japanese, this record stands as iconic as Mt. Fuji itself.

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This triple vinyl Deluxe Edition includes the original album's eleven tracks alongside five raw and jacking rare gems, available on wax for the first time, which were previously included only in the Japanese 2016 Deluxe Edition CD.

There are also two digital-only bonus tracks. One is a live performance by Yokota, titled 'Live at Shibuya Beam Hall', which was recorded at Sublime Records' label launch party, held in September 1994. It was previously only released on the aforementioned 2016 Japanese CD edition. This event, titled 'Sublime Records Presents New Style of Electronic Ambient Party' featured performances by Susumu Yokota, Ken Ishii, Yoshihiro Sawasaki, Speedy J and DJ Wada. This ten minute long, rare live recording captures Yokota playing a dynamic, fast paced acid house live jam, using two TB-303s and a drum machine. The other digital only bonus track is an alternative version of 'H', which was discovered recently whilst excavating a DAT.

The liner notes are written by DJ/producer Alex From Tokyo, who was a good friend of Yokota, and experienced the 90s Tokyo club scene first-hand as an insider. His compilation 'Japan Vibrations Vol. 1' captures this golden era, and features music by Prism (Susumu Yokota), Ryuichi Sakamoto, Haruomi Hosono, Yasuaki Shimizu, Quadra (Hiroshi Watanabe) and more.

3LP Vinyl
Catalogue no: MMDS24004LP

Side A
1. Zenmai (2024 Remaster)
2. Kinoko (2024 Remaster)
3. Meijijingu (2024 Remaster)

Side B
1. Saboten (2024 Remaster)
2. Oh My God (2024 Remaster)
3. Tambarin (2024 Remaster)

Side C
1. Oponchi (2024 Remaster)
2. Ao-oni (2024 Remaster)
3. Akafuji (2024 Remaster)

Side D
1. Alphaville (2024 Remaster)
2. Tanuki (2024 Remaster)

Side E
1. Floating G (2024 Remaster)**
2. H (2024 Remaster)**
3. B (2024 Remaster)**

Side F
1. F (2024 Remaster)**
2. 2 H (2024 Remaster)**

**= 5 unreleased tracks released for the 1st time on vinyl.

New liner notes by Martyn Pepperell

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