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TAV ESSENTIAL LISTENING

Pioneering Japanese producer Susumu Yokota's 2005 album 'Symbol', lovingly re-issued by P-Vine Recordings!

Composed of samples from familiar classical pieces by Debussy, Rachmaninov, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Saint-Saëns, alongside modern compositions by John Cage and Meredith Monk - Susumu Yokota’s swooning 2004 album is a gorgeous tapestry that’s as beautiful as it is idiosyncratic. Using bits and pieces of orchestral inspirations as thread, Symbol weaves patterns that straddle somewhere between electronic and ambient in its austere design. Although reminiscent of mash-up artists like The Avalanches in form - Yokota’s meticulous, multilayered approach is less interested in making you dance, and more focused on keeping you entranced. In that, Symbol is a spellbindingly successful collage, one that’s soothing in texture and rich with understated emotion.