Inoue Mahler

Shades Of Orion (1993). Tetsu Inoue's second full-length collaboration with Pete Namlook splits evenly between beatless and beat-oriented ambient, with spacey, immersive textures and subtle arrangements. High production values and the wealth of creative territory covered make for one of the finest early Fax releases.
Shades Of Orion 2 (1994). One of the better long-form releases in the Fax stable. This second Shades of Orion project is quite different from the first… a single relaxing, drifty, ethereal piece that will slow your body down and put you to sleep if you need it to. Meditative and very gentle, this recording is free of spoken word samples and sonic distractions, which makes it ideal for just chilling out to.

2350 Broadway (1993) is the first in a series recorded by Namlook and Tetsu Inoue. The first half is rather too short on tones and melody but the second disc, consisting of the 70-minute epic "Hands Of Light" is a masterful exercise in deep spacemusic. It's glacial pace varies only marginally between beatless and gently pulsed and its mix of electronic drones, wind effects and melodies is deceptively simple.
2350 Broadway 2 (1994) is a seminal, almost fabled release spanning two CDs and recorded by Namlook and Tetsu Inoue in real time (no pre- or post-production and no overdubs). Remarkably engaging for its simplicity, the set was subsequently reissued by popular demand and spawned a pair (and counting) of follow-ups in the series…

This debut recording by the auspicious Japanese pianist Satoko Inoue is doubly so because of its program: eight works by Japanese composers. Inoue is well-known for a repertoire of 20th century classical music by composers as diverse as Feldman, Cage, Varese, Debussy, and Ives. To choose for her debut recording the works of Japanese composers as diverse as Toru Takemitsu, Jo Kondo, Mamorou Fujieda, Sesshu Kai, and the father of all Nippon composers from the last century, Yoritsune Matsudaira. Given the difference between pre- and post-World War II Japan, it is of no surprise that the stylistic differences between composers born before and after the war would be great. All of them hold within them, however, one distinct quality: to offer the emotional essence of the object considered. Inoue wisely structures her program to convey the essentialist nature of all the works she performs.

Simply entitled "Datacide II", is Atom Heart and Tetsu Inoue's second collaboration work. Very different from their first Datacide recording, which mainly contained "acid" oriented, rhythmical tracks, "Datacide II" explores what finally became "Datacide's" main trademark: psychedelic ambient textures. Only remotely the "acid" background can still be heard, mainly in the track "Head Dance". "Datacide II" contains a series of trippy, relaxing, sometimes abstract ambient compositions which are tied together by the already mentioned centerpiece "Head Dance" and which may evoke the feeling of one traveling through a chain of audio images.

Inland is a gargantuan album. As its name suggests, the structure and sound design helps the listener to take a relaxing journey into his or her being and existence. It is tremendously cozy, and no track is out of place or alienating. In fact, each track is a winner, even the redued Symphony H2O which is only underwhelming in comparison to the remaining 7 tracks in which Inoue marries his reduced style of warm strings and occasional crackles with a lavish amount of thick synths, all of them glowing brightly and warmly. This is simply Inoue's most beautiful album, and if you like harmonious interplays of luxurious synth washes and spacious sections of relative peace with reverberated strings and whispering clicks, this is one of the best choices you can pick.

Tetsu Inoue's first solo work on Fax and a highly sought-after collectible. Some of the tracks bear a passing resemblance to Brian Eno's early generative experiments (Discreet Music, Evening Star) but Inoue's take is decidedly contemporary, with pillowy, mellifluous synth passages occasionally accented by subtle beats and lilting melodies.

Fax veteran Tetsu Inoue and newcomer Jonah Sharp produced this 1994 album of the trademarked sound of Fax - soft and spacey rhythms. The album mostly depends on the 47-minute "Morphing Cloud" which is fantastic and epic but rather spacious and seems stretched out to fill its running time. Sharp's quirky electronic noises and Inoue's spacey background ambience are indeed lush and dramatic but somewhat light and thinned out, with some moments that disrupt the blissful mood and put you on edge. "Replay" is an eerie interlude with a back-and-forth melody that serves as a kind of purgatory to wait through before "Floating Sync.", the fully-realized effort of this collaboration, comes in. With rich melodies, bass, gorgeous ambient background and harmonized vocal samples, this is the only instance you'll get of the two putting their full genius at work.

Both tracks start off with slow waves of ethereal sounds. During the 50 minute track, "Time - Cage," much evolution occurs. The slow melodic opening becomes a darker atmosphere. In the darker part, which takes up the majority of the song, low drones provide a foundation while wisps of air and (for a lack of a better term) spacey computer sounds flow by. There is a quiet percussion line with a cricket-sounding element that adds a sleepy characteristic. Eventually lighter or higher pitched background elements return providing a more ethereal sound late in the song. This gives way a short while later with the song ending with nothing but echoed electronic sounds surrounded in thick reverb. In every part of the song (the background drones, subtle percussion, foreground melodies and noises) there is constant, slow change…

Tetsu Inoue's experimental tendencies take full reign on his third Fax solo work. Heavily hacked samples and field recodings abound, and though not as immediately engaging as his early work, repays close attention with a depth of shape and color.

Those familiar with Tetsu's work need no introduction to this release. This was arguably his finest release, collaborative or otherwise. He has an impressive discography with the 2350 Broadway series, Ambiant Otaku, Organic Cloud, Masters of Psychedelic Ambience, Inland, Yolo and the more challenging Waterloo Terminal & Psycho Acoustic releases. What makes "World Receiver" special was the integration of atmospheres from Inoue's early works and the addition of the many sounds sampled from across the globe, presumably acquired by Tetsu during his travels.