Susumu Hirasawa
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese electropop artist and composer.
In 1972, he enrolled at Tokyo Designer Gakuin College. From 1972 to 1978, he performed in his first band Mandrake, a progressive rock group influenced by King Crimson
and Yes
. In 1979 he formed a New Wave
synth-rock & techno-pop band called P-Model
, along with two former members of Mandrake. They released a string of albums through the 1980s, and in 1989, Hirasawa began releasing solo work, while also continuing to work with the reactivated P-Model beginning in 1992. The P-Model project continued until 1999; in 2004 Hirasawa started a new unit known as Kaku P-Model, which is effectively a solo continuation of P-Model.
computers extensively in his work, using applications such as Scala, Bars and Pipes, and OctaMED
in the production of his music. One of the factors that set him apart from other Japanese electronic artists is ever-changing production techniques. For 2001's Solar Ray album, his recording studio was powered completely by solar energy
.
His subject matter can be equally unusual. A constant source of inspiration for his music has come from Thailand. In fact, the concept behind his 1995 album Sim City was drawn from his experiences travelling there, and more specifically, from Thai transsexuals. Guest Thai vocalists appear throughout that and proceeding albums, including 1996's Siren, which was also a concept album based on Thailand. As for his lyrical inspiration, Hirasawa references the philosophies of yin and yang
, his travels and the principles of nature vs. machines.
Hirasawa occasionally stages interactive live performances. They merge computer graphics with his music to tell interactive stories, and involve heavy use of computers, particularly Amiga systems, motion capture cameras and video projectors. The flow of each live show is determined by audience participation; for example, Interactive Live Show 2000 was formatted as a maze, and the audience was allowed to choose which path to follow. Sometimes, audience participation plays a part in the performed music, as it did in Interactive Live Show 2000. He provided the phone numbers to four cellular phones during one song, and the audience was allowed to call the numbers to have him play the corresponding ringtone. This provided an improvised harmony between the background music and the ringing phones.
Hirasawa's live music is based on samples he activates with various hand-crafted sampler machines, pre-recorded tracks without vocals, and no regular backup performers. For the Solar Ray live tour, he used solar power and a power-generating wheel, inspired by bicycles, to power his electronic equipment. DVDs are available of his innovative award-winning live performances via his website (and ordering through Teslakite).
after the September 11, 2001 attack
, which he believes to involve excessive murder of innocent people. As a result of his convictions, Hirasawa has offered free downloads of his music, which he hopes will be used as tools of objection.
soundtracks, except Kamui Mintara which is a documentary soundtrack.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese electropop artist and composer.
In 1972, he enrolled at Tokyo Designer Gakuin College. From 1972 to 1978, he performed in his first band Mandrake, a progressive rock group influenced by King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
and Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
. In 1979 he formed a New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
synth-rock & techno-pop band called P-Model
P-Model
P-Model was a Japanese New Wave synth-rock & techno-pop band started in 1979 by frontman Susumu Hirasawa. The band has included many lineup revisions over the years but Hirasawa was always at the helm of operations...
, along with two former members of Mandrake. They released a string of albums through the 1980s, and in 1989, Hirasawa began releasing solo work, while also continuing to work with the reactivated P-Model beginning in 1992. The P-Model project continued until 1999; in 2004 Hirasawa started a new unit known as Kaku P-Model, which is effectively a solo continuation of P-Model.
Compositions and performances
Hirasawa uses AmigaAmiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
computers extensively in his work, using applications such as Scala, Bars and Pipes, and OctaMED
OctaMED
OctaMED is a popular sound tracker for the Commodore Amiga, written by Teijo Kinnunen. The first version, 1.12, was released in 1989 under the name MED, which stands for Music EDitor. In April 1990, version 2.00 was released with MIDI support as the main improvement...
in the production of his music. One of the factors that set him apart from other Japanese electronic artists is ever-changing production techniques. For 2001's Solar Ray album, his recording studio was powered completely by solar energy
Solar power
Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation, along with secondary solar-powered resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for most of the available...
.
His subject matter can be equally unusual. A constant source of inspiration for his music has come from Thailand. In fact, the concept behind his 1995 album Sim City was drawn from his experiences travelling there, and more specifically, from Thai transsexuals. Guest Thai vocalists appear throughout that and proceeding albums, including 1996's Siren, which was also a concept album based on Thailand. As for his lyrical inspiration, Hirasawa references the philosophies of yin and yang
Yin and yang
In Asian philosophy, the concept of yin yang , which is often referred to in the West as "yin and yang", is used to describe how polar opposites or seemingly contrary forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world, and how they give rise to each other in turn. Opposites thus only...
, his travels and the principles of nature vs. machines.
Hirasawa occasionally stages interactive live performances. They merge computer graphics with his music to tell interactive stories, and involve heavy use of computers, particularly Amiga systems, motion capture cameras and video projectors. The flow of each live show is determined by audience participation; for example, Interactive Live Show 2000 was formatted as a maze, and the audience was allowed to choose which path to follow. Sometimes, audience participation plays a part in the performed music, as it did in Interactive Live Show 2000. He provided the phone numbers to four cellular phones during one song, and the audience was allowed to call the numbers to have him play the corresponding ringtone. This provided an improvised harmony between the background music and the ringing phones.
Hirasawa's live music is based on samples he activates with various hand-crafted sampler machines, pre-recorded tracks without vocals, and no regular backup performers. For the Solar Ray live tour, he used solar power and a power-generating wheel, inspired by bicycles, to power his electronic equipment. DVDs are available of his innovative award-winning live performances via his website (and ordering through Teslakite).
Activism
Hirasawa spoke out against "the nations that are headed towards carnage while ignoring international law" and the actions of the Japanese government in aiding such actions. Specifically, he pointed to the American responseU.S. government response to the September 11, 2001 attacks
The response of the U.S. government to the September 11 attacks sparked investigations into the motivations and execution of the attacks, as well as the ongoing War on Terrorism in Afghanistan.-Rescue, recovery, and compensation:...
after the September 11, 2001 attack
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
, which he believes to involve excessive murder of innocent people. As a result of his convictions, Hirasawa has offered free downloads of his music, which he hopes will be used as tools of objection.
Original albums
| # | Title | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Water In Time And Space | 1989-09-01 |
| 2 | The Ghost in Science The Ghost in Science "The Ghost In Science" is Susumu Hirasawa's second album. It uses similar composition methods to the previous album, Water in Time and Space.-Track listing:#"Sekai Turbine"#"Rocket"#"Fish Song"#"Cowboy and Indian"#"Quit"#"Amor Buffer"... |
1990-05-25 |
| 3 | Virtual Rabbit | 1991-05-25 |
| 4 | Aurora Aurora (Susumu Hirasawa album) was an album produced by Susumu Hirasawa and released on February 25, 1994. Of note is that some of Hirasawa's later albums included different versions of several of these songs. For example the song Aurora itself was later released in Solar Ray as Aurora 2 on 2001, and later rereleased as Aurora 3... |
1994-02-25 |
| 5 | Sim City Sim City (album) Sim City is an electronica album by Susumu Hirasawa. Inspiration for this album came from visits to Thailand and transsexuals. Several Thai vocalists have appeared in this album, providing some samples for his songs... |
1995-08-05 |
| 6 | Siren | 1996-08-01 |
| 7 | Technique of Relief Technique of Relief Technique of Relief is an electronica album by Susumu Hirasawa. Like Aurora, some songs have been featured in "Interactive Live Show 2006 LIVE BYAKKOYA". Notably, the songs within the album can be considered as soothing... |
1998-08-21 |
| 8 | Philosopher's Propeller Philosopher's Propeller Philosopher's Propeller is an electronica album by Susumu Hirasawa. Some songs such as Nigredo and Rubedo come from Latin and scientific terms synonymous with the album title. Notably, some songs served as the basis for the Millennium Actress soundtrack... |
2000-10-05 |
| 9 | Solar Ray Solar Ray Solar Ray is a 2001 album that was composed by Susumu Hirasawa. It features remixes from some of his older songs and albums, such as Philosopher's Propeller and Aurora. These remixes are based upon his old band which disbanded in 1999, known as P-Model. Solar Ray's songs are energetic and have an... |
2001-10-11 |
| 10 | Blue Limbo | 2003-02-13 |
| 11 | Switched-on Lotus | 2004-01-10 |
| 12 | White Tiger Field | 2006-02-02 |
| 13 | Planet Roll Call Planet Roll Call is a 2009 album composed by Susumu Hirasawa. This is his 11th solo album and is his first solo album in three years. The album shares many features with his previous albums, using both electronic sounds as well as heavy epic drums. A few of the songs are low tempo just like his last album White... |
2009-02-18 |
| 14 | Totsu-Gen-Hen-I | 2010-06-23 |
| 15 | Hen-Gen-Jizai | 2010-11-10 |
As KAKU P-Model (solo)
| # | Title | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vistoron | 2004-10-07 |
Soundtracks
These are all animationAnimation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
soundtracks, except Kamui Mintara which is a documentary soundtrack.
| # | Title | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Detonator Orgun Detonator Orgun is a Japanese original video animation series by AIC and Artmic, directed by Masami Ōbari. It was released on DVD by Central Park Media in the United States in 2001.-Part 1:... OST 1 |
1991-07-05 |
| 2 | Detonator Orgun OST 2 | 1991-10-25 |
| 3 | Detonator Orgun OST 3 | 1992-05-25 |
| 4 | Kamui Mintara | 1993-01-25 |
| 5 | Berserk Original Soundtrack Berserk anime soundtrack is based on the popular heroic fantasy Berserk anime TV series first broadcast in Japan from 1997 to 1998.Susumu Hirasawa has composed the anime's soundtrack. All tracks are instrumental except the last three. The music genre is rather eclectic with various instruments such as piano, violin, harp,... |
1997-11-06 |
| 6 | Lost Legend - Ushinawareta Densetsu no Tairiku | 1999-04-25 |
| 7 | Sword of the Berserk (soundtrack) | 1999-12-15 |
| 8 | Millennium Actress Millennium Actress is a 2001 Japanese anime by director Satoshi Kon and animated by the Studio Madhouse. It tells the story of a documentary filmmaker investigating the life of an elderly actress in which reality and cinema become blurred.-Plot:... Original Soundtrack |
2002-09-06 |
| 9 | Paranoia Agent Original Soundtrack Paranoia Agent Original Soundtrack Paranoia Agent Original Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the TV series Paranoia Agent composed by Susumu Hirasawa. The CDs catalog number is #5274, and is labeled by Geneon Entertainment, the same company that holds the English language rights to the anime series in the US.-Track listing:# # #... |
2004-05-12 |
| 10 | Paprika Original Soundtrack Paprika Original Soundtrack Paprika Original Soundtrack is the soundtrack for the 2006 film, Paprika and was released on November 23, 2006 under the TESLAKITE label. It was composed by Susumu Hirasawa... |
2006-11-23 |
| 11 | 2007-06-07 |
Singles
| # | Title | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1990-05-25 | |
| 2 | 1991-06-25 | |
| 3 | 1992-04-10 | |
| 4 | 1996-08-01 | |
| 5 | Berserk ~Forces~ | 1997-11-01 |
Videos
| # | Title | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Error [エラー] | 1990-06-21 |
| 2 | Making of Tokyo Paranesian | 1994 |
| 3 | 1994 | |
| 3 | 1994 | |
| 4 | 1995 | |
| 5 | 1997-01-21 | |
| 6 | 2001-05-05 | |
| 7 | Hirasawa Energy Works LIVE SOLAR RAY | 2002-09-24 |
| 8 | Interactive Live Show 2003 Limbo-54 | 2003-11-26 |
| 9 | Interactive Live Show 1995 SIM CITY | 2003-11-26 |
| 10 | LIVE VISTORON / KAKU P-MODEL | 2005-04-01 |
| 11 | Interactive Live Show 2006 Live Byakkoya | 2007-10-31 |
| 12 | Interactive Live Show 1996 Live SIREN | 2007-10-31 |
| 13 | PHONON 2550 VISION | 2008-10-10 |
| 14 | PHONON 2551 VISION | 2009-09-15 |
| 15 | ENDING ERROR / P-MODEL | 2009-09-15 |
| 16 | Interactive Live Show 2009 LIVE Planet Roll Call | 2010-02-10 |
| 17 | PHONON 2553 VISION | 2011-05-30 |
External links
- English translation of an interview with Susumu Hirasawa from Ikir Sector, an Italian-language website
- Susumu Hirasawa's official site (in English)
- Susumu Hirasawa's "Free Distribution Against the Carnage" anti-war protest page
- Teslakite, Susumu Hirasawa's online store
- The most comprehensive and current English information site
- A review of Interactive Live Show 2000 DVD Version 1.4
- RocketBaby's Interview
- Jmusic.fr.tc Biography and complete discography at the jmusic section (in French)