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Aurora (Susumu Hirasawa album)

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Aurora
Studio album by
Susumu Hirasawa
ReleasedFebruary 25, 1994 (1994-02-25)
Recorded1993
Studio
Various
Genre
Length60:11
LabelPolydor K.K.
Producer
  • Susumu Hirasawa
  • Yūichi Kenjo (co.)
  • Hitoshi Maeda (exec.)
Susumu Hirasawa chronology
Virtual Rabbit
(1991) 		Aurora
(1994) 		Sim City
(1995)

Aurora is Susumu Hirasawa's fourth solo album.

Overview

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His first main solo album in three years following a period where focus was directed on the Defrosted P-Model, Aurora, which Hirasawa has said can be considered a second solo debut,[1] is a turning point in his career. Unlike the previous solo albums, Aurora doesn't feature guest musicians, with almost all instrumentation handled by MIDI-compatible devices.[2] The music was composed with the Amiga The Blue Ribbon SoundWorks programs Bars & Pipes Professional, which he started using for "more natural orchestration",[3] and SuperJAM!,[4] whose "Bartok" style he modified by inputting data from his own songs, irreversibly turning its patterns and variations into "Hirasawa" style ones.[5]

Aurora was created to appeal to the instinctual side of the listener as opposed to the logical, in likeness to tales and myths,[6] emphasizing vocals and melody. The songs were written so that the album would lack any inherent story or concept, inviting the listener to create their own reading.[3] However, as he wrote the lyrics out, seven of the album's ten songs ended up having to do with "you" (キミ, kimi), which accidentally created undertones of a story about two people. Hirasawa wanted to avoid that if at all possible, but felt that was just the way the language worked and left it as is.[3] Many words representing natural phenomena were included in an attempt to resolve complaints about the lyrics being opaque. Hirasawa chose words that were easy to understand and had a large impact, the word Aurora came from this decision as well.[3]

The album's booklet is adorned with Buddhist imagery. Advertisements for Aurora used the phrase "The Greatest Music of All" (至高の音楽, Shikou no Ongaku).[7]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Susumu Hirasawa

No.TitleLength
1."Stone Garden" (石の庭 Ishi no Niwa)6:02
2."Love Song"7:02
3."Aurora" (オーロラ Ōrora)4:17
4."Song of the Force" (力の唄 Chikara no Uta)5:28
5."Take the Wheel" (舵をとれ Kaji wo Tore)4:32
6."Snow Blind" (スノーブラインド Sunōburaindo)6:40
7."The Double of Wind" (風の分身 Kaze no Bunshin)4:51
8."In the Square" (広場で Hiroba de)4:34
9."Island Door (Paranesian Circle)" (トビラ島 (パラネシアン・サークル) Tobira Shima (Paraneshian Sākuru))13:29
10."Ringing Bell" (呼んでるベル Yonderu Beru)2:57
  • The official translations of the titles of the songs are stylized in all uppercase letters.
  • "Snow Blind" contains a sample of "Oh Mama!" by P-Model, from the album One Pattern.

Personnel

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technical
  • Masanori Chinzei - recording, mixing
  • Motohiro Yamada (Eggs Shep Studio), Harumi Ōta (MIX), Tsutomu Okada (MIX) - assistant engineering
  • Masao Nakazato (Onkio Haus) - mastering
visuals
  • Kiyoshi Inagaki (d.d.t.) - art direction, design
  • Hideki Namai - photography
  • Akemi Tsujitani - styling
  • Kazunori Yoshida - hair & make-up
operations
  • Roppei Iwagami (Pre-Octave) - publishing
  • I3 Promotion
    • Yūichi Kenjo - co-production
    • Masami Fujii - publicity coordination
    • Koosuke Mogi - artist management
    • Takeshi Fujita - personal management
  • Polydor K.K.
Thanks
  • Gallery LS for Mandala (スーナムギャムフォ), Fernandes

Release history

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Date Label(s) Format Catalog Notes
February 25, 1994 (1994-02-25) Polydor K.K. CD POCH-1328
July 1, 2005 (2005-07-01) Universal Music Japan, Universal Sigma Digital Download none
February 29, 2012 (2012-02-29) Chaos Union, Teslakite CD CHTE-0057 Remastered by Masanori Chinzei. Disc 4 of the HALDYN DOME box set.
November 5, 2014 (2014-11-05) Universal Music Japan SHM-CD UPCY-6930 Part of Universal's "Project Archetype" (supervised by Osamu Takeuchi & Kasiko Takahasi). Remastered by Kenji Yoshino (supervised by Chinzei) with both original liner notes and new ones.[8]
  • "Love Song", "Aurora", "Song of the Force" and "Snow Blind" are included in the NEW SONGS FROM AURORA promotional sampler.
  • "Love Song", "Aurora" and "In the Square" are included on the Archetype | 1989-1995 Polydor years of Hirasawa compilation.
  • "Island Door (Paranesian Circle)" is included in the vinyl release of the Ruiner Original Soundtrack.

References

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  1. ^ Hirasawa, Susumu (2012). "Disc 01－07". Haldyn Dome (PDF file included on Data Disc) (in Japanese). Chaos Union, TESLAKITE. p. 37. CHTE-0057.
  2. ^ a b アーティスト研究 平沢進 [Artist Study － Susumu Hirasawa]. Sound & Recording Magazine (in Japanese). Vol. 4. Rittor Music. April 1994. ISSN 1344-6398.
  3. ^ a b c d Takahasi, Kasiko (2010) [1999]. 改訂DIGITAL復刻版 音楽産業廃棄物 [Music Industrial Wastes Rev.2.4] (PDF) (in Japanese). Vol. Hirasawa Side — 卓上のウロボロス [Desktop Ouroboros] (3rd ed.). Fascination. p. 21.
  4. ^ "平沢進 - "舵をとれ" / Hirasawa Susumu - "Take the Wheel"". 音の帯〜Phonon Belt.
  5. ^ "Interview 平沢進". Keyboard Magazine (in Japanese). Vol. 10. Rittor Music. October 1998. ISSN 1344-6371.
  6. ^ Inoue, Takako (March 1994). 目を閉じて犬になり、雲になり・・・・・・ [Close Your Eyes, Then You Become a Dog, or Cloud......]. Rockin' on Japan (in Japanese). Vol. 82. Rockin' on Inc. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  7. ^ "Ad for the release of Aurora". Hirasawa Lyrics.
  8. ^ Takeuchi, Osamu. "wilsonic works 41". wilsonic journal. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
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