'Ukiyo Microcosmos’ is the ninth production in the upcoming line of the VSSR brand. Created as a collaboration of the Fukuoka-based artists PNTKS & hermit NOH1 (能弯月), it is a personal accumulation of 15 years experience in Japan.
Inspired by the tranquility found in Kyoto shrines, contrasted by a tumultuous reality of the megacities, 'Ukiyo Microcosmos’ melds a plethora of traditional Japanese instruments with dystopian future tech-cyberpunk.
Using layered percussion to bind chopped and stretched samples, the listener is given a lush soundscape, featuring an array of vibrant strings (koto, biwa, shamisen), the shrill pentatonic of woodwinds (shakuhachi, shō, hichiriki), Gagaku & Buddhist chants, in addition to meticulously placed textural details.
The album 'Ukiyo Microcosmos’ is intended to be absorbed as a whole, providing the listener with an in-depth auditory account of folklore, legends, and environments of a forgotten age, combined with a futurist view of Japan. With each strategically placed bell, reverberating gong, exhale, and pixelated cry, the listener is drawn deeper into the microcosmos.
