Tsutom Yamashita
Symphonic Poem Kūkai
Victor (Japan) 1984
SJX-30221 (LP) Original pressing. w/obi, insert.
sleeve : EX+ (very slightly collapse on one corner)
media : EX/EX (some slight surface noise)
An album released in 1984 by world-renowned percussionist/synthesizer player Tsutom Yamashita. Featured in the guidebook "Obscure Sound: 640 Albums of Paradise," this is a new arrangement of the original soundtrack album for the film "Kūkai," produced to commemorate the 1150th anniversary of Kōbō Daishi Kūkai's spiritual retreat, with music composed by Yamashita. This version is performed with orchestra and synthesizers and released as his own original work. The mixing and mastering also utilized the latest technology of the time, resulting in a very refined sound quality. The album opens with track A1, where the solemn ringing of bells and chanting reverberate in silence, and extremely subtle synthesizer sounds invite listeners into a deep meditative world. Track A2, with its contrast between low-frequency synthesizer drones resembling a heartbeat and high-frequency synthesizers, expresses karma. This masterpiece of spiritual music masterfully embodies the life of Kūkai, the originator and founder of Japanese artistic concepts and spiritual aspirations, through music, conveying a grand story that transcends a mere soundtrack. I have been listening to it for many years.