Yumiko Morioka & Takashi Kokubo - Gaiaphilia (Metron)
- The Slow Music Movement
- Mar 30
- 1 min read
*** This blog post first appeared in TSMM's March 29th Newsletter, where you can get all the tips, and more, first. ***
Yumiko Morioka is a classical pianist from Japan who first appeared on my radar in 2020 with the reissue of her Resonance LP on Metron. Takashi Kokubo is a storied new age ambient producer with a 25 year history of communing with, recording and musically celebrating nature in its many forms.
If you need some beatific, fauna rich ambient piano music to help shine some light through the climatic and geopolitical shadows then you should hit play on their new LP, it really is a lovely listen. Kokubo’s impeccable field recordings of natural spaces provide a bucolic and serene backdrop for Morioka to weave her genteel piano lines, which Kokubo further augments with faint ambient electronics, temple chimes and even a monastic vocal finale.
There will be days when I deem the new age vibes too soft edged and the piano too straight ahead for my usually more abstract and out-there preferences, but if you need some genteel, beautifully crafted, earth attuned ambient piano sometimes, then this LP will run and run.
Playlist Companion
For a longer sound bath head over to the Slow Ambient Playlist:
Comments