During quite a complicated period in my life a few months ago, I got pretty heavily into abstract electronic minimalism from the 60s and 70s – women like Franca Sacchi, Daphne Oram and Teresa Rampazzi. There was something about the real negative space that these women created that really stuck with me, and also the fact that I could really latch on to this world of composers that was so long ago but yet was so – to put it simply – weird. Even though on the surface the image of a lone person using various gear to make these minimal sounds could seem lonely or boring, I found these artist’s intentional solitude, confidence and comfort infectious and a great source of inspiration in their insistence on doing everything on their own terms. After all, loneliness is really only a state of mind.
Austrian musician Tomoroh Hidari’s latest album Some Stars Not Yet Black Holes, appeals to me in the same way. It is an album of long-form abstract ambient pieces that contain electronic grooves and at times surprisingly poppy textures. Making occasional nods to 1970s Kosmische Musik, the album is conceptually concerned with outer space, and Hidari uses the otherworldliness inherent in this music to create pieces that sound foreboding and ominous, but never scary or isolating. While he mightn’t reach the heights of those previously mentioned, it’s such a pleasure to listen to his album from beginning to end and come full circle with all those listening experiences. And while it is quite a bit busier and more melodic than the work from those women, it bears sonic resemblance, given Hidari’s insistence on old synthesizers and analogue drum machines.
The album starts with ‘Polaris’, a piece of slowly escalating amorphous drones punctuated by harsher electronic squeaks. Following this, ‘Algol’ starts in a similar way but brings in a menacing synth loop halfway through to astonishing effect. Elsewhere ‘Sirius’ and ‘Arcturus’ uses restless, otherworldly percussion – they’re the grooviest songs on the album, like soundtracks for a never released video game. ‘Regulus’ is the album highlight, combining all these elements beautifully, where the space in between the sounds becomes just as important as the sounds themselves.
I can sometimes find music like this to be too intellectual or sterile, but I found myself completely embracing the album. Although it can be a difficult and uncomfortable listen at times, it really is such a rewarding album in that you get out what you put in. Highly recommended for people who mightn’t usually listen to abstract music, there is not a moment wasted as Hidari creates such infinite and hauntingly beautiful soundscapes.
Wyatt Lawton-Masi
