MASAHIRO SUGAYA "The Long Living Things" LP

★First edition limited edition★With obi

Composer Masahiro Sugaya, who has been highly acclaimed overseas in recent years for his tracks being included in the Japanese ambient compilation "Kankyō Ongaku" by the Grammy-nominated US label "Light In The Attic", has released the stage music "Sea Zoo" (1988), which he created for a stage performance by the performing arts group "Papā Tarahumara" of which he was a member at the time, on LP for the first time in the world!

Masahiro Sugaya has been active as a composer since the early 1980s, studying under such distinguished composers as Shigeaki Saegusa, Joji Yuasa, and Teizo Matsumura, and participating as an arranger in the works of guitar duo "Gontiti" and the soundtrack for NHK Educational TV's "Nakagakusei Nikki." This album was produced for the stage performance "Umi no Zoo" by the performing arts group "Papā Tarahumara," for which he was a member from 1987, and was released only in CD format at the time. The songs included in this album have been reissued as individual songs, such as the Grammy-nominated Japanese new age/ambient compilation "Kankyō Ongaku" by the US label "Light In The Attic," and the compilation album "Horizon Vol.1" by the US label "Empire of Signs," which reissues works by Japan's leading ambient artists such as Hiroshi Yoshimura and Inoyama Land, but this is the first time it has been reissued as an album and the first time it has been released in LP format! "Sand Grains of the Sea" (M2) from "Kankyō Ongaku" features a delicate piano and soft electronic sounds, while "To the Ends of the World" (M7) from "Horizon Vol.1" is filled with a sense of floating, with soft, overlapping minimalist sequences. While making full use of digital equipment such as samplers and synthesizers, this historic masterpiece embodies the essence of Japanese ambient music, which has been re-evaluated worldwide in recent years.

[Masahiro Sugaya, Chief Editor]
Born in 1959, he was a member of Pappa Tarahumara from 1987 to 2000, and was mainly active in composing music for stage productions. After leaving the company, he produced musique concrète works using an 8-channel multi-speaker system, and planned "Idochat Room," a one-person listening session. He has also composed music for NHK's "FM Theater" and "New Sunday Masterpiece Theater," and arranged for the guitar duo group GONTITI. His latest work (scheduled for release at the end of August 2024) is the cassette tape album "Shirushimamire."

■Track list