Studio Playlist: April 2025
- peter etherington
- Apr 1
- 2 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
Still Way (Wave Notation 2) - 1982
Satoshi Ashikawa 芦川聡
I like listening to music while I work, but music with distracting beats or lyrics kills my concentration. Ambient music, on the other hand, greatly improves my focus. Perhaps it stimulates a different part of the brain - speak to your local scientist about that one.
I discovered this album while listening to a Spotify playlist named Ambient Japan, which accompanies me on almost every drive around the scruffy streets of South London.
In this sprawling yet minimalist playlist, the tunes of Still Way stood out as having a Brian Eno quality, so I went down the rabbit hole. Unfortunately, the hole was tragically shallow.
Satoshi Ashikawa was a pioneer of ambient music in Japan in the early '80s, and he may have become a giant of the field had a car accident not claimed his life in 1983 at the age of just 30. He produced Hiroshi Yoshimura's Music for Nine Post Cards, but Still Way is his only commercially available solo production. It offers a tantalising glimpse of his talent and vision.
Ashikawa's arrangements are a musical chill-pill suited to work, exploration, or reading. Listen closely and you'll find nuance and complexity in the layers he builds, à la Philip Glass, but you can also just switch off and let his music wash over you.
Whether you think ambient music is for you or not, I encourage you to give this album a try. Still Way - Wave Notation 2 is a musical sanctuary, and couldn't we all do with one of those in our lives?
Bottom Line: If you like Brian Eno's Ambient 1: Music for Airports, you'll love this.
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