Aurora (Susumu Hirasawa album)
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| Aurora | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 25, 1994 | |||
| Recorded | 1993 | |||
| Studio | Various
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 60:11 | |||
| Label | Polydor K.K. | |||
| Producer |
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| Susumu Hirasawa chronology | ||||
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Aurora is Susumu Hirasawa's fourth solo album.
Overview[edit]
His first main solo album in three years following a period where focus was directed on the Defrosted P-Model, Aurora, which Hirasawa has said can be considered a second solo debut,[1] is a turning point in his career. Unlike the previous solo albums, Aurora doesn't feature guest musicians, with almost all instrumentation handled by MIDI-compatible devices.[2] The music was composed with the Amiga The Blue Ribbon SoundWorks programs Bars & Pipes Professional, which he started using for "more natural orchestration",[3] and SuperJAM!,[4] whose "Bartok" style he modified by inputting data from his own songs, irreversibly turning its patterns and variations into "Hirasawa" style ones.[5]
Aurora was created to appeal to the instinctual side of the listener as opposed to the logical, in likeness to tales and myths,[6] emphasizing vocals and melody. The songs were written so that the album would lack any inherent story or concept, inviting the listener to create their own reading.[3] However, as he wrote the lyrics out, seven of the album's ten songs ended up having to do with "you" (キミ, kimi), which accidentally created undertones of a story about two people. Hirasawa wanted to avoid that if at all possible, but felt that was just the way the language worked and left it as is.[3] Many words representing natural phenomena were included in an attempt to resolve complaints about the lyrics being opaque. Hirasawa chose words that were easy to understand and had a large impact, the word Aurora came from this decision as well.[3]
The album's booklet is adorned with Buddhist imagery. Advertisements for Aurora used the phrase "The Greatest Music of All" (至高の音楽, Shikou no Ongaku).[7]
Track listing[edit]
All tracks are written by Susumu Hirasawa
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Stone Garden" (石の庭 Ishi no Niwa) | 6:02 |
| 2. | "Love Song" | 7:02 |
| 3. | "Aurora" (オーロラ Ōrora) | 4:17 |
| 4. | "Song of the Force" (力の唄 Chikara no Uta) | 5:28 |
| 5. | "Take the Wheel" (舵をとれ Kaji wo Tore) | 4:32 |
| 6. | "Snow Blind" (スノーブラインド Sunōburaindo) | 6:40 |
| 7. | "The Double of Wind" (風の分身 Kaze no Bunshin) | 4:51 |
| 8. | "In the Square" (広場で Hiroba de) | 4:34 |
| 9. | "Island Door (Paranesian Circle)" (トビラ島 (パラネシアン・サークル) Tobira Shima (Paraneshian Sākuru)) | 13:29 |
| 10. | "Ringing Bell" (呼んでるベル Yonderu Beru) | 2:57 |
- The official translations of the titles of the songs are stylized in all uppercase letters.
- "Snow Blind" contains a sample of "Oh Mama!" by P-Model, from the album One Pattern.
Personnel[edit]
- Susumu Hirasawa - vocals, electric guitar (Talbo), acoustic guitar (Yairi), synthesizers (E-mu Proteus/2, Korg MS-20, Korg M1R, Roland JD-800), sampler (Akai S1100), drum machine (Roland R-8 with DANCE card), Amiga (2500), sequencer (Bars&Pipes Professional), programming, production[2]
- technical
- Masanori Chinzei - recording, mixing
- Motohiro Yamada (Eggs Shep Studio), Harumi Ōta (MIX), Tsutomu Okada (MIX) - assistant engineering
- Masao Nakazato (Onkio Haus) - mastering
- visuals
- Kiyoshi Inagaki (d.d.t.) - art direction, design
- Hideki Namai - photography
- Akemi Tsujitani - styling
- Kazunori Yoshida - hair & make-up
- operations
- Roppei Iwagami (Pre-Octave) - publishing
- I3 Promotion
- Yūichi Kenjo - co-production
- Masami Fujii - publicity coordination
- Koosuke Mogi - artist management
- Takeshi Fujita - personal management
- Polydor K.K.
- Osamu Takeuchi - direction
- Tomohide Ishikawa - A&R chief
- Hitoshi Maeda - executive production
- Thanks
- Gallery LS for Mandala (スーナムギャムフォ), Fernandes
Release history[edit]
| Date | Label(s) | Format | Catalog | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 25, 1994 | Polydor K.K. | CD | POCH-1328 | |
| July 1, 2005 | Universal Music Japan, Universal Sigma | Digital Download | none | |
| February 29, 2012 | Chaos Union, Teslakite | CD | CHTE-0057 | Remastered by Masanori Chinzei. Disc 4 of the HALDYN DOME box set. |
| November 5, 2014 | Universal Music Japan | SHM-CD | UPCY-6930 | Part of Universal's "Project Archetype" (supervised by Osamu Takeuchi & Kasiko Takahasi). Remastered by Kenji Yoshino (supervised by Chinzei) with both original liner notes and new ones.[8] |
- "Love Song", "Aurora", "Song of the Force" and "Snow Blind" are included in the NEW SONGS FROM AURORA promotional sampler.
- "Love Song", "Aurora" and "In the Square" are included on the Archetype | 1989-1995 Polydor years of Hirasawa compilation.
- "Island Door (Paranesian Circle)" is included in the vinyl release of the Ruiner Original Soundtrack.
References[edit]
- ^ Hirasawa, Susumu (2012). "Disc 01－07". Haldyn Dome (PDF file included on Data Disc) (in Japanese). Chaos Union, TESLAKITE. p. 37. CHTE-0057.
- ^ a b アーティスト研究 平沢進 [Artist Study － Susumu Hirasawa]. Sound & Recording Magazine (in Japanese). Vol. 4. Rittor Music. April 1994. ISSN 1344-6398.
- ^ a b c d Takahasi, Kasiko (2010) [1999]. 改訂DIGITAL復刻版 音楽産業廃棄物 [Music Industrial Wastes Rev.2.4] (PDF) (in Japanese). Vol. Hirasawa Side — 卓上のウロボロス [Desktop Ouroboros] (3rd ed.). Fascination. p. 21.
- ^ "平沢進 - "舵をとれ" / Hirasawa Susumu - "Take the Wheel"". 音の帯〜Phonon Belt.
- ^ "Interview 平沢進". Keyboard Magazine (in Japanese). Vol. 10. Rittor Music. October 1998. ISSN 1344-6371.
- ^ Inoue, Takako (March 1994). 目を閉じて犬になり、雲になり・・・・・・ [Close Your Eyes, Then You Become a Dog, or Cloud......]. Rockin' on Japan (in Japanese). Vol. 82. Rockin' on Inc. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
- ^ "Ad for the release of Aurora". Hirasawa Lyrics.
- ^ Takeuchi, Osamu. "wilsonic works 41". wilsonic journal. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
External links[edit]
- AURORA at MusicBrainz (list of releases)
- AURORA at iTunes Japan
- AURORA at amazon.co.jp
