Empire of Signs, the music publishing imprint given dear life by Spencer Doran (Visible Cloaks) and Maxwell August Croy (En, Root Strata), has returned with reissues of rare Japanese ambient sounds from Makoto Inoue and Yasushi Yamashita’s Inoyama Land project and avant-garde composer Masahiro Sugaya.
Inoyama Land’s Commissions: 1977-2000 culls from over two decades of the duo’s environmental music work utilized in theater, installations, and exhibits from across the spectrum of time. The compilation features some music never formally released, as well as music once experienced in the Kankaku (Sense) Museum, “an exhibit on slime molds at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Ueno Park,” a performance titled Collecting Net from 1977, and a “re-staging of New York avant-theatre pioneer Richard Foreman’s post-modern stage piece Egyptology.” It arrives September 20.
Masahiro Sugaya’s Horizon, Volume 1 captures music from the composer’s early work with Pappa Tarahumura, an experimental performance troupe based in Tokyo, who “forged a unique dream-like style that merged performance art, modern dance and fantastical installation-like stage sets.” Though Sugaya initially self-released his own scores, the majority of the music featured in Horizon, Volume 1 is making its debut outside of Japan on this reissue. It arrives October 11.
Pre-order, test drive, and learn more about Commissions: 1977-2000 here and Horizon, Volume 1 here. Each album has limited edition vinyl options, as well as a 3xLP bundle that pairs both reissues with another Empire of Signs release, Hiroshi Yoshimura’s Music for Nine Post Cards. Check out the full tracklistings below alongside excerpts from the records.
Inoyama Land - Commissions: 1977-2000 tracklisting:
01. Hair Air
02. Cycle
03. Soushiyou To Shiteiru
04. Garasudama
05. Aa Egypto
06. Skyfish
07. Bananatron
08. Fairy Tale
09. Morn
10. Kodama
11. Ougon No Sara
12. Candy Floss
13. Watashikara Ubawanaide
14. Anatano Yushoku No Tameni
15. Candy (alt.)
16. Sekai No Owari
Masahiro Sugaya - Horizon, Volume 1 tracklisting:
01. Horizon (Intro)
02. Future Green
03. Afternoon of the Appearing Fish
04. Grain of Sand by the Sea
05. Straight Line Floating in the Sky
06. Wind Conversation
07. Until the End of the World
08. Horizon (Outro)