- Beautiful 1 LP 33rpm Cut Re-Edition
- 33 rpm LP mastercut by Emil Berliner

*** TERRITORY RESTRICTION - NO SALES TO JAPAN ***

Tracklisting:
1. Mr. Henri Rousseau's Dream
2. Crossing
3. Trompe-l'œil
4. Catastrophe E

Info


WRWTFWW & Palto Flats Records are ecstatic to announce the highly-anticipated reissue of Japanese percussionist Midori Takada's sought after and timeless ambient / minimal album "Through The Looking Glass", originally released in 1983 by RCA Japan.

Considered a Holy Grail of Japanese music by many, "Through The Looking Glass" is Midori Takada's first solo endeavor, a captivating four-song suite capturing her deep quests into traditional African and Asian percussive language and exploring contemplative ambient sounds with an admirably precise use of marimba. The result is alternatively ethereal and vibrant, always precise and mesmerizing, and makes for an atmospheric masterpiece and an unparalleled sonic and spiritual experience.

The fully licensed reissue is available as a single 33rpm LP and a limited 45rpm DLP, both cut directly from the original studio reels (AAA), at Emil Berliner (formerly the in-house recording department of renowned classical record label Deutsche Grammophon) for the 45rpm DLP, and at the equally famous Frankfurter SST Studio for the LP. It is also available in CD format for the first time. All versions come with extensive liner notes.

Bio

Midori Takada is a composer, multi percussionist, and theater artist renowned in Japanese vanguard circles. She will tour Europe this year.

Midori released two solo albums: "Through The Looking Glass" and "Tree Of Life" and wrote music for Tadashi Suzuki's theater plays. Her hypnotic, minimalist music is based in the concept of coherence between sound and the human body. She performs solo on marimba and other percussion instruments.

She debuted on the scene of Berlin Philharmonic, performing with the RIAS Symphonie-Orchester Berlin just after graduating from Tokyo University of the Arts in 1974. She continued her career with solo concerts in Japan and abroad.

In the 1980s Midori began to explore the traditional music of Asia and Africa. Her fascination resulted in joint projects with Kakraba Lobi from Ghana, Lamine Konte from Senegal, Farafina Band from Burkina Faso, and Korean musicians: zither player Chi Seong-Ja, flute player Won-Il, and saxophone player Kang Tae-Hwan. She also led Mkwaju Ensemble's innovative percussion project and still performs with free-jazz band Ton-Klami with Kang Tae-Hwan and jazz pianist Masahiko Satoh.

In the past 20 years, Midori Takada spent more time in theaters than in concert halls - composing and performing live music for theater. She regularly works with Tadashi Suzuki and his Suzuki Company of Toga on their adaptations of "Electra" and "King Lear".

Takada's compositions have a remarkable way of affecting the imagination. Her minimalist, contemplative music is filled with the concept of infinity and reminds us of a moon voyage, falling stars, a journey into the ocean, or a walk in the garden. The trans melodies, initially simple, begin to loop and splinter, their rhythm breaking and thickening, slowly drawing the listener into another reality.

Every live performance Midori Takada gives is unique and prepared especially for that occasion.


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Tracklist 12":

A1) Mar dei Sargassi (with Stump Valley)
A2) Pantelleria
B1) Tokyo Love Affair (with Sam Ruffillo)
B2) NoLo's Awakening

Curitiba-raised, Milan-based Bárbara Boeing is back with ‘Pantelleria’ taken from Memoir EP, her second release on Toy Tonics, due out on 1st November.

After many years of digging for dance floor gems and finetuning her ear, Bárbara arrived at a point where she felt ready and inspired to make her own music, dropping her debut Brasiliana on Toy Tonics in 2023 - a collection of tracks that did not seek cohesion between themselves but rather aimed to reflect the breadth of sounds and genres that make their way into her DJ sets.

Since then, Bárbara has continued her journey from highly respected selector to music producer and now returns with 4 brand-new colourful and uplifting tracks. This time Bárbara took to the studio to collaborate on two EP tracks with Stump Valley and also reunited with Sam Ruffillo (both of Toy Tonics). The result is a 4 track EP that combines a mixture of 80s and early 90s music with genres that she usually brings in her sets as well as some diverse influences picked up while she was touring in Asia.

17 years into honing her craft, Bárbara's highly acclaimed DJ sets are always peppered with music from her homeland and across Latin America, and span everything from Balearic, Proto and Italo House, Synth pop, Disco, Zouk, Kwaito and more. 2024 will see Bárbara play at diverse festivals such as Gop Tun and Lost Village as well as make her North America debut, while in recent years she's appeared on the bill at some of dance music's best festivals, such as Polifonic, Melt, Kala, Nuits Sonores, Time Warp, Listen, Lente Kabinet, Dekmantel Selectors and Dekmantel in São Paulo.

This year she will also be launching her own party, Bárbara Boeing Convida (which means "invites"). As the name suggests, Convida will see her inviting artists she admires to play alongside her in different places around the world with editions already confirmed in cities including Paris, London and Milan. "I just love to bring my music to people," she said. "Showing people music is the thing that makes me the happiest."














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