Studio Playlist 0.5

Tell me a story in the secret summer midnight - Hirotaka Shirotsubaki - 2021

The elegant album artwork of Hirotaka Shirotsubaki's Tell me a secret story in the sleepless summer midnight.

Back to ambient, and back to Japan. Do the Japanese do calm better than anyone else? I'll go out on a limb and say yes.

Hirotaka Shirotsubaki was a Spotify stumble-upon, and I honestly could have written up any of his albums as they all hit the mark (gently). Tell me a secret story in the sleepless summer midnight takes top spot because it offers just the right blend of sound-world-building and ebb and flow. Honestly, though, each album is as good as the last.

Ambient is my go-to genre while I work, as I find it blocks distractions, removes unhelpful thoughts, and helps me stay focused. It has a similar effect when I'm driving, but I appreciate that won't be the case for everyone.

Some people see ambient music as a luxury spa soundtrack and little else, but it has so much more to offer. It is used in spa settings because it helps visitors switch off and disengage, floating in a place beyond their usual thoughts and worries. Why limit that sensation to a massage table?

Hirotaka Shirotsubaki (image from artist's Bandcamp page)

Next time you're on a solo city break or walking in the countryside, pop some ambient music in your pods and let it wash over you as you explore. And when you've got a pressing deadline or need to get creative at your desk, switch to ambient and see your focus improve. Driving is another matter. Falling asleep on a massage table is one thing...

I won't claim to be an expert on Hirotaka Shirotsubaki. I can't find any English-language information about him besides his bio on Spotify and Bandcamp.

From a small town in Kobe, born in 1986, he began his career in 2011. Taking inspiration from the natural surroundings in the suburbs where he grew up, his early music’s major themes were the city and nature. However, his later music tends towards the impersonal, allowing each listener to fit the sounds into the spaces of his or her life, attempting to link the ideas of memory and recollection into his music.

So that's all I know. Perhaps that's all I need to know. One man, quietly working away to produce an archive of ambient bliss. Life should be like that sometimes.

His choice of album artwork is another beautiful point of difference, but I'll let you discover that on your own.

Go ambient or go home. They'll never put that on a t-shirt.

Links:

Spotify

Bandcamp