{"product_id":"susumu-yokota-the-boy-and-the-tree-skintone-edition","title":"Susumu Yokota – The Boy And The Tree (Skintone Edition)","description":"\u003cp\u003eYokota at his most enigmatic and profound. A deeply psychedelic voyage into a world of ritual and magic.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIncluding an essay by Carl Griffin in the liner notes....\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e... “As we all now know, the prodigiously prolific Susumu Yokota never repeated himself, as was his wont and as was the nature of his searching appetite for new creative impetus. In the weeks leading-up to the making of this extraordinary album Yokota had taken a restorative and perhaps revelatory trip to Yakushima Island.”...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e—\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the weeks leading up to the studio sessions which birthed Susumu Yokota’s 2002 album \u003cem\u003eThe Boy And The Tree\u003c\/em\u003e, he visited Japan’s Yakushima Island, an outstandingly beautiful world heritage site off the southern tip of Japan, jutting out into the East China Sea. As well as a beach with protected status as a loggerhead turtle nesting site, the island is scored by a deep, lush and ancient ravine, The ‘Shiratani Unsuikyo’. Nestled in the gorge is a much mythologised ancient tree, the potentially 7000-year old ‘Jōmon Sugi’. It is these sloping, verdant forests where Hayao Miyazaki found inspiration for his 1997 epic Princess Mononoke, a groundbreaking anime addressing the conflict between the rampant greed and destructive force of humanity, and the stoic, mysterious fragility of nature. It is no secret that Yokota was a fan of this film, and it is clear from the work he created in the wake of his visit that he was hugely inspired by the breathtaking majesty of the island.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis fleeting immersion in nature lent the album a profound introspection and mystery, and the its twelve tracks unfold in dream sequence, each drifting seamlessly into the next while still managing to steer the listener in myriad directions, from eerie butoh atmospheres, to ebullient raga, to desolate, cavernous chanson.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Boy And The Tree\u003c\/em\u003e is definitely one of, if not the most, visually evocative and cinematic Yokota releases, and where Grinning Cat or Will were visually and thematically shackled to the electric hustle of Tokyo, it looks instead to the revelatory quietness of the rolling hills and sweeping coastlines of Yakushima, a place of refuge which prompted Yokota to extract himself “a few times a week” from his suburban home to follow in the ancient, winding arteries of the forest. Yokota once told music journalist Bim Rickson “Walking amongst the big trees, I can hear my heartbeat and the echoes of the earth”, and on \u003cem\u003eThe Boy And The Tree\u003c\/em\u003e, these forest resonances are audible, unfurling in a strikingly organic way as if Yokota is merely documenting the soundscape of one of his forest rambles. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is ostensibly his most Japanese-sounding album, from the woven, resounding ronin warrior cries in ‘Live Echo’ to the blissful pentatonic washes over ‘Rose Necklace’ and the warbling noh chants and ceremonial bells on ‘Red Swan’.  This inkling of nostalgic pride in the ancient arts of Japan is offset, however, by a gentle new-age utopianism. Throughout the album, Yokota unselfconsciously incorporates samples from global musical traditions; see the pulsing earth raga of ‘Grass, Tree and Stone’, or the driving gamelan phrases of ‘Secret Garden’, for instance, which still manage to steer well clear of any patronising ‘10 hours of zen garden meditation sounds’ atmospheres. \u003cbr\u003eThe aspect of Yokota’s art which set him apart from many artists in his milieu wasn’t as much the raw and well trodden subject matter itself, but more the way it was treated, with a unique tastefulness and knack for unexpected juxtaposition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe wafting strains of reed pipe and cricket-like ambience on ‘Beans’ could fly close to vapid lounge atmospheres in the wrong hands, but Yokota splices the samples in a way which preserves their essence while maintaining an acousmatic mystique; short phrases loop in increasingly mechanical cycles, making the listener question their provenance in the same way a word loses its meaning when repeatedly spoken.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJust like Miyazaki’s Mononoke Hime, \u003cem\u003eThe Boy And The Tree\u003c\/em\u003e is at once a subtle and quietly stunning ode to the fragile majesty of nature, a reverent cry for humanity to rally and protect what is essential to our survival, and an intoxicating homage to the spirit in all earthly things. — (via \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/susumuyokota.com\/releases#magic-thread-r\" 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 orange 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\/1IV6cLF5OW1zesM7KTsXBr?utm_source=generator\u0026amp;si=1355178e4a2e4e75\" 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\u003e↓\u003cbr\u003eLabel: Lo Recordings\u003cbr\u003eFormat: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album, Orange\u003cbr\u003eReissued: 2026 \/ Originally Released: 2002\u003cbr\u003eGenre: Electronic\u003cbr\u003eStyle: Ambient\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFile under: Japanese Electronic\u003cbr\u003e⦿\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lo Recordings","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48033204633758,"sku":"5057805952213","price":60.0,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0584\/5434\/3838\/files\/Lo256LP-Boy-and-Tree-disc-1-768px.jpg?v=1784972890","url":"https:\/\/theanalogvault.com\/products\/susumu-yokota-the-boy-and-the-tree-skintone-edition","provider":"The Analog Vault","version":"1.0","type":"link"}