{"product_id":"susumu-yokota-grinning-cat-skintone-edition","title":"Susumu Yokota – Grinning Cat (Skintone Edition)","description":"\u003cp\u003eOne of Yokota's most loved releases that explores the intersection of jazz, new age ambience and a world of found sound and samples.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIncluding an essay by Wyndham Wallace in the liner notes:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e....\"Imagination....\" Lewis Carroll’s Cheshire cat advised in the pages of Alice in Wonderland '...is the only weapon in the war with reality'. \u003cem\u003eGrinning Cat\u003c\/em\u003e couldn’t feel much less like combat, but, whether one relates to it intellectually or instinctively, emotional socery - always a great stimulator of the imagination - is critical to its charms. Shifting styles accross tracks and, moreover, within tracks, it exhibits a carefree disregard for conventions, creating an environment in which to revel while offering compelling triumphant proof of its fictional precursor's doctrine'....\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e—\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSentimental without being schmaltzy, joyful without being saccharine, \u003cem\u003eGrinning Cat\u003c\/em\u003e sees Yokota at his most playful and experimental, channelling moments of transitory wonder and jubilation, and opening up a sonic environment in which we can romp and play. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlthough one of Susumu Yokota’s most stylistically varied works in the Skintone catalogue, \u003cem\u003eGrinning Cat\u003c\/em\u003e revolves largely around the piano- both sampled and seemingly played by Yokota himself. Across its thirteen deeply evocative tracks, he runs the gamut of emotions, stylistic hallmarks and timbres, albeit using a narrow palette of sound sources. A follow-up to the much loved Sakura, \u003cem\u003eGrinning Cat\u003c\/em\u003e represented an amoebic, energised and joyful chapter in Yokota’s career, where his recent successes and a move into a larger studio in Tokyo’s suburbs afforded him time to process his influences and refine his techniques across a multitude of styles, opening up countless potential directions for his work in the years to come.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile 1999’s Sakura seemed to draw heavily on the concept of ‘mono no aware’ or impermanence; a national melancholy associated with beauty and impermanence characterised by the meagre couple of weeks in which Japan’s cherry blossoms emerge, \u003cem\u003eGrinning Cat\u003c\/em\u003e latches on to the present moment with glee and inquisitiveness, fluctuating in tempo, rhythmic structure and arrangement in a way poignantly reminiscent of the chaos and delight of everyday life. “Last summer,” Yokota wrote, “I started to live with my girlfriend and also three cats: mother cat, Tabasa, her son cat, Bindi, and her daughter black cat, Noa. We all played together like having parties everyday at home. The everyday life with cats is like a fairytale, and also it was like I met the Cheshire Cat in Alice In Wonderland. In my works, I always create philosophy and ‘childlike’ images. This album \u003cem\u003eGrinning Cat\u003c\/em\u003e came into existence because of having this wonderful life”. It is this preoccupation with everyday wonder and mystery, closer to the buddhist concept of ‘yuugen’, which characterises \u003cem\u003eGrinning Cat\u003c\/em\u003e; a suggestion of profound beauty, mystery and joy in memory and imagination.  — (via \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.lorecordings.com\/release\/grinning-cat\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eLabel\u003c\/a\u003e)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e—\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePart of the Skintone Edition series of re-issues.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLimited Edition white vinyl 2x12” vinyl LP housed in 2 x PMS printed inner sleeves featuring custom fonts by Non Format and spot gloss abstraction of the original album artwork.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAccompanied with a double sided 2-panel insert and double sided 4 panel poster.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll sleeved in a custom PMS 7mm wide spine reverse board outer sleeve with die cut square centre panel and belly band.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn memory of Susumu Yokota. These reissues are brought to you in association with the Yokota family, in celebration of the extraordinary legacy of his music. Made with love and respect.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUnder exclusive license to Lo Recordings from Skintone Records.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"100%\" height=\"352\" style=\"border-radius: 12px;\" data-testid=\"embed-iframe\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/album\/7MsGvDOZjp4NgjoQPAk1kF?utm_source=generator\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVinyl Tracklist\u003cbr\u003eA1 I Imagine  \u003cbr\u003eA2 King Dragonfly  \u003cbr\u003eA3 Card Nation  \u003cbr\u003eA4 Balloon in a Cage\u003cbr\u003eB1 Lapis Lazuli   \u003cbr\u003eB2 Cherry Blossom  \u003cbr\u003eB3 Sleepy Eye\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eC1 Love Bird \u003cbr\u003eC2 Fearful Dream\u003cbr\u003eC3 Tears of A Poet\u003cbr\u003eD1 Flying Cat\u003cbr\u003eD2 So Red \u003cbr\u003eD3 Lost Child\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e↓\u003cbr\u003eLabel: Lo Recordings\u003cbr\u003eFormat: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album, Limited Edition, Reissue, White\u003cbr\u003eReissued: 2025 \/ Originally Released: 2001\u003cbr\u003eGenre: Electronic\u003cbr\u003eStyle: Ambient, Downtempo\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFile under: Electronic \/\/ Japanese Electronic\u003cbr\u003e⦿\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lo Recordings","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46438924026014,"sku":"5057805952169","price":70.0,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0584\/5434\/3838\/files\/Lo254LP-Grinning-Cat-disc-1-768px.jpg?v=1769237810","url":"https:\/\/theanalogvault.com\/products\/susumu-yokota-grinning-cat-skintone-edition","provider":"The Analog Vault","version":"1.0","type":"link"}