Takagi Masakatsu – Journal For People (Carpark)

Originally released in Japan in 2002 on Harumi Hosono’s (ex-Yellow Magic Orchestra) Daisyworld label, Takagi Masakatsu’s lilting glitch/pop/ambient album Journal For People finally gets wider international release through the Carpark label. Takagi is probably better known as a video artist than as a musician and packaged as a CD/DVD combo, the DVD showcases Takagi’s core work of the period capturing and digitally processing poetic sequences and patterns he observes in everyday life – water, merry-go-rounds, crowds, blurred firework explosions – the beautiful from the mundane. Accompanying these video works is his melodic, shimmering electronic soundtrack, with tight digital editing synchronised to the flicker of the vision. On the CD are thirteen tracks that mirror and expand on the soundtrack to the DVD. Takagi plays quiet contemplative piano over backwards drones, electronic pulses, glitches and tones. Despite the sometimes hyperactive pace of digital ticks – which make more sense after seeing them synchronised to video edits on the DVD – this is a lovely meditative album.