Aurora (Susumu Hirasawa album)

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Aurora
File:Susumu Hirasawa - AURORA.png
Studio album by Susumu Hirasawa
Released February 25, 1994 (1994-02-25)
Recorded 1993
Studio
Various
Genre
Length 60:11
Label Polydor K.K.
Producer
  • Susumu Hirasawa
  • Yūichi Kenjo (Executive)
Susumu Hirasawa chronology
Virtual Rabbit
(1991)Virtual Rabbit1991		 AURORA
(1994)		 Sim City
(1995)Sim City1995

Aurora is Susumu Hirasawa's fourth solo album. The album introduces a new, deeper type of sound. Hirasawa has said that it can be considered his second solo debut.[1]

Overview

After releasing, promoting and touring Virtual Rabbit in 1991, Susumu Hirasawa focused on his work with the "Defrosted" P-Model lineup for 2 years. Hirasawa's solo output slowed down during this period, focusing mainly on soundtrack work, the occasional producer/guitarist guest spot for his associates, and few live performances, mostly on special events and festivals. Hirasawa performed two solo shows in 1993, the first one at the ERROR OF INFORMATION Wait (ERROR OF INFORMATION 待機 ERROR OF INFORMATION Taiki?) show were P-Model underwent "kono ato revisION...", where Hirasawa performed 2 songs from the album: "Song of the Force" and "Love Song"; at the I3 Days'93 festival, Hirasawa performed 4 songs from the album: The aforementioned "Love Song", the title track, "Take the Wheel" and "Snow Blind".[2]

This album was created with Hirasawa ridding himself of the framework built through his first three solo albums, while it builds up on his previous solo work (most noticeably Virtual Rabbit) and on big body, and focusing on evoking a primordial landscape to the listener by simulating certain universal elements. The album's theme is defined as healing an incomplete reality through the illogical nature of Jōmon-like myths and tales.[3] Instead of mixing and experimenting different styles, Hirasawa uses a symphonic style with emphasis on vocals and melody; it has songs with multiple parts, and is one of his longest albums.[4] Unlike his previous solo albums, Aurora doesn't feature guest musicians or have a story, due to Hirasawa's emphasis on song over sound. Reviews of the album referred to the it as "Ambient", which saddened him.[5]

Aurora employs the production techniques developed on P-Model and big body. For the arrangements, Hirasawa used an array of mostly MIDI-compatible equipment, with roles divided between everything. A Proteus/2 and an Akai S1100 did strings (the Proteus/2 was also used for percussion and the S1100 for voice sampling); a Korg M1 did brass, basslines and piano parts; a Roland JD-800 did modulation; a Roland R-8 (equipped with a SN-R8-10 - "Dance" PCM ROM sound card) did rhythms with the S1100. The computer program "Bars & Pipes Professional" (running on an Amiga 2500) was used to do the "Tangerine Delay" effect (named so after Tangerine Dream) and to sequence the MIDI in real time.[6]

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

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Susumu Hirasawa. 

No. Title Length
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 titles of the songs are officially rendered out in all caps.

Track information

Stone Garden

The song's lyrics draw comparisons to St. Elmo's fire. This is the first song in the album to feature Hirasawa playing guitar, and the only one to feature electric guitar.

Love Song

Hirasawa has said that the song is about children on the battlefield. The song's stanzas start with sounds emphasized by Hirasawa while singing, following a slight pattern.[8]

  • Has a Promotional Video, with CG models made on an Amiga by Hirasawa of a staircase structure and a humanoid, similar to the one on the cover of big body (although this model does not feature a grid-like pattern on his body), doing various motions, such as walking while changing gender (this animation later appeared on the Sim City Tour), the video also features random bits of footage (fire, nature, buildings, photographs taken during wars) and slow-motion footage of Hirasawa doing what appears to be singing while looking to the side.
  • Live versions were included in the HIRASAWA error ENGINE - Hirasawa Three Acts in Three Hours～Upper, Sim City Tour and Unreal Soprano - INTERACTIVE LIVE SHOW Vol.5 ~ SIREN videos, the latter two feature SP-2 singing.
  • An arrangement of this song was as used by Hirasawa as BGM to the "Sonkyo" animation included on the PHOTON-3 VHS.
  • A special arrangement of the song was performed on the Adios Jay Interactive Live Show.
  • Remade in 2003 in the style of the Blue Limbo album as "Love Song [Year 2003 Version]"; this version was released by Hirasawa for free to be used as a tool to protest the carnage being committed as the American response after the September 11, 2001 attacks.[9] Hirasawa remade this version as "LOVE SONG 2003 Type-A2"; this version incorporates the bagpipes section from the song "Earth" from the Sword-Wind Chronicle BERSERK Original Soundtrack; this version was included in the nano-duplication memorials MP3 release; a version made for the Interactive Live Show 2003 LIMBO-54 was played on all shows, with the fourth and last one being released is the Interactive Live Show 2003 LIMBO-54 video.
Aurora

The sampled snare roll that opens the song was performed by P-Model drummer Yasuhiro Araki for the album One Pattern.[6]

  • Live performances are included in the HIRASAWA error ENGINE - Hirasawa Three Acts in Three Hours～Upper and Sim Cty Tour videos.
  • Used as the ending theme to Hirasawa's Techno Experimental Workshop radio series.
  • Rarranged by Hirasawa in the P-Model style for the Solar Ray album as "Aurora 2".
  • Hirasawa rarranged the song again, in the style of his Byakkoya - White Tiger Field album, for the LIVE Byakkoya shows as "AURORA 3"; this version was included in the concert's video release (using the recording from the second performance) and the LIVE Byakkoya - White Tiger Field Memorial Package MP3 release; another live version is included in the Phonon 2550 Vision video. Due to this arrangement featuring heavy use of strings, the song was rejected from the voting polls of the "The Aggregated Past KANGENSHUGI 8760 HOURS" project by Hirasawa early on.
Song of the Force

When premiered at the "ERROR OF INFORMATION Wait" show, it was titled "Fire Drill".

Take the Wheel

To make this song, Hirasawa used the Amiga program SuperJAM!,[11] whose "Bartok" style he modified by inputing data from his own songs, irreversibly turning its patterns and variations into "Hirasawa" style ones.[12] The lyrics feature Italian/Neapolitan terms ("Amore mio" and "’O sole mio"), and references to the butterfly effect & the hourai talismans.[13]

Snow Blind

Uses vocals from the P-Model song "Oh Mama!" (from One Pattern) played backwards in its beginning. The lyrics mention "a blizzard giant", this is a reference to Blizzard, a series of Amiga accelerator boards designed by Phase5.[14] This song has multiple parts, heavily uses repetition and mentions Buddhist themes.

  • Live versions are included in the HIRASAWA error ENGINE - Hirasawa Three Acts in Three Hours～Upper & Phonon 2550 Vision videos.
The Double of Wind

Features constant repetition of the word "Abracadabra", verbs in their infinitive forms and possibly has Buddhist themes.

  • A live version is included in the HIRASAWA error ENGINE - Hirasawa Three Acts in Three Hours～Upper video.
In the Square

This is the second and last song in the album to feature Hirasawa playing guitar, and the only one to feature acoustic guitar; it also has an abrupt end.

  • Rearranged by Hirasawa in the P-Model style for the Solar Ray album as "In the Square 2".
  • Part of the song was incorporated in the Kangen Shugi version of "Goes on Ghost".
Island Door (Paranesian Circle)

Hirasawa's longest solo composition (his longest songs overall are the experimental piece "Deranged Door" by Mandrake; and "Parallel Motives II", a remix of "Parallel Motives" by Hans-Joachim Roedelius, David Bickley and Alex Paterson), it's a tribute piece to/created trying to imitate the style of Tangerine Dream. It's the only song on the album that Hirasawa made that is an outright attempt to make electronic music, he didn't consider it a success.[5] It can only be bought digitally if the entire album is purchased. The song's lyrics reference the Primera and The Peach Blossom Spring.

  • Played on the 39th and last broadcast of Hirasawa's Techno Experimental Workshop series in the 31st of March 1995, where it took up almost half of the programme's running time.
  • A live version of the song was included in the making of tokyo paranesian video; with added Drums and Bass sections (played by Hirasawa's Live Band members Wataru Kamiryo and Toshihiko "BOB" Takahashi); unlike other songs in the video, Hirasawa plays synthesizer instead of guitar (although Takanori "TAKA" Yamaguchi, Hirasawa's live band keyboardist, continued to play keyboard); in this version, a verse of the song is skipped and Hirasawa made images in the projection screen with a flashlight, while space sounds were played; nature footage is played in the projection screen during the early parts of the song, other footage played on the screen during the latter parts of the song includes fire, rotating circles and a Mandala.
  • Remade in a symphonic, orchestral, string-oriented style as part of "The Aggregated Past KANGENSHUGI 8760 HOURS" project, this version was released on the Hen-Gen-Ji-Zai album, where Hirasawa reduced the song's running time to 9 minutes and 40 seconds, performed it in a slower tempo and drastically altered the melody of the intermezzo, he also used an acoustic guitar with special tuning on this song (which he also used on the remake of "Dreaming Machine" from The Ghost in Science) due to it being difficult for him to play with standard tuning;[15] this song took Hirasawa more than 3 weeks to recreate, while other songs were remade, in average, in 1 week; this version of the song had 3 sketches released by Hirasawa on the Kangen Shugi website as he worked on it; a live performance of this version by Hirasawa was included in the Tokyo I-jigen Kudou video; in this performance, Hirasawa sung the last part of the song using a microphone stand instead of his usual headset microphone, this instance was used as the release's cover.
Ringing Bell

Uses more electronic sounds than most songs in the album, it's also the only track to feature analog synth; it references the Orochi.

Personnel

Release history

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.[16]
  • "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.

Interactive Live Show

The Aurora Legend
Interactive Live Show concert by Susumu Hirasawa
Location Yodogawa, Osaka, Osaka
Naka, Nagoya, Aichi
Udagawa, Shibuya, Tokyo
Venue Osaka Postal Savings Hall
CLUB DIAMOND HALL
Shibuya Public Hall
Associated album AURORA
Date(s) March 10, 11, 21
Susumu Hirasawa concert chronology
  • Hi-Res
    (1992)
  • The Aurora Legend
    (1994)
  • TOKYO Paranesian
    (1994)

AURORA TOUR 1994 INTERACTIVE LIVE The Aurora Legend (AURORA TOUR 1994 INTERACTIVE LIVE オーロラ伝説 AURORA TOUR 1994 INTERACTIVE LIVE Ōrora Densetsu?) was the first Interactive Live Show played by Hirasawa; his Interactive Live Shows have stories and allow the audience to choose where the stories will go during certain "Hot Points" that occur in between songs, always tied to Hirasawa's newest main solo album. The story follows the information-warrior Hirasawa (ヒラサワ?) and his journey to save the Aurora Princess (オーロラ姫 Ōrora Hime?), who governed the operations of a world that transcends time, from Binary Descartes (バイナリー・デカルト Bainarī Dekaruto?), whose capturing of the Aurora Princess caused her world to fall into ruin.[17]

Hirasawa performed all shows solo, with the exception of certain Hot Points that featured Jun Togawa playing the role of the Mother of Navajo (マザー･オブ･ナバホ Mazā obu Nabaho?) (Togawa also sang backing vocals through "video phone" on "Clear Mountain Top" and "Cowboy and Indian" and came on stage during encores for "Haldyn Hotel" and "Cowboy and Indian"); song sequences were played using customized Amiga programs, while Hirasawa sang, played guitar (two Talbos, one of them golden, and two black acoustic Yairi Guitars) & synth (a Roland JD-800), and operated the "Tubular Hertz" (チューブラ・ヘルツ Chūbura Herutsu?), a device named after Tubular Bells, consisting of a structure with a shape between a pipe organ and a set of tubular bells connected to a synthesizer keyboard (a Casio FZ-1) that could play (and hold down) notes by pulling one of its ten tubes.[18] A screen separated Hirasawa from the audience, and CG animation and text was played through it; during the Hot Points, the screen would display two doors, the audience would then choose which one to open by passing around a spherical "Balloon Sensor", an inflatable balloon connected to a sampler, that would play samples when touched, the audience would then open the door by moving the balloon under one of the doors.

The songs, CG and sensor were controlled using the Amiga authoring system SCALA (in 1992, Hirasawa experimented with Amiga through the Hi-Res show, were songs and movies were controlled by one Amiga running the authoring system ShowMaker), various Amigas and 20 operators were necessary to run the show.

Unlike later concerts, this one was not officially recorded, however, photographs were taken (and later included in the "Music Industrial Wastes" book) and bootleg recordings were made, four of these photographs and samples of a recording were released on the Kangen Shugi website.[19]

Besides playing songs from AURORA, Hirasawa also played songs from his first three solo albums (Water in Time and Space, The Ghost in Science and Virtual Rabbit) and "Frozen Beach'94", a new version of "Frozen Beach" that, while it retained the lyrics of earlier versions, it had different music, a new version of "YOHKO Mitsurugi" from Detonator Orgun 1; a different version of this arrangement, simply titled "FROZEN BEACH", was released a year later on the SCUBA RECYCLE album. Hirasawa also played two other iterations of the INTERACTIVE LIVE SHOW in 1994: TOKYO Paranesian (TOKYOパラネシアン TOKYO Paraneshian?), which featured a full backing band and was the first INTERACTIVE LIVE SHOW to have a video release, and the one show only Adios Jay (performed at the "I3 DAYS'94" festival with drummer Wataru Kamiryo), made in dedication to the then recently deceased "Father of the Amiga", Jay Miner.

<templatestyles src="Template:Hidden begin/styles.css"/>

Set List (March 10)
1: Frozen Beach'94 (フローズン・ビーチ'94 Furōzun Bīchi'94?)
2: Techno Girl (テクノの娘 Tekuno no Musume?)
3: THE DOUBLE OF WIND (風の分身 Kaze no Bunshin?)
HOT POINT - Desutoroi Gitā de Yattsukeru (デストロイ・ギターでやっつける?, Destroy Guitar Attack)
4: SNOW BLIND (スノーブラインド Sunō Buraindo?)
Speech
5: IN THE SQUARE (広場で Hiroba de?)
6: SONG OF THE FORCE (力の唄 Chikara no Uta?)
7: LOVE SONG
HOT POINT - Mazā obu Nabaho Kara no Hinto (マザー・オブ・ナバホからのヒント?, Hints From the Mother of Navajo)
8: Clear Mountain Top (山頂晴れて Sanchō Harete?)
9: Cowboy and Indian (カウボーイとインディアン Kaubōi to Indian?)
Speech
10: Rocket (ロケット Roketto?)
11: TAKE THE WHEEL (舵をとれ Kaji wo Tore?)
12: Virtual Rabbit (ヴァーチュアル・ラビット Vāchuaru Rabitto?)
13: Stormy Sea (嵐の海 Arashi no Umi?)
HOT POINT - Mashin Toraburu～Desutoroi Gitā de Tatakau (マシン・トラブル～デストロイ・ギターでたたかう?, Machine Trouble～Destroy Guitar Struggle)
14: STONE GARDEN (石の庭 Ishi no Niwa?)
15: ISLAND DOOR (PARANESIAN CIRCLE) (トビラ島 (パラネシアン・サークル) Tobira Shima (Paraneshian Sākuru)?)
Encore
Speech
16: AURORA (オーロラ Ōrora?)
17: Haldyn Hotel (ハルディン・ホテル Harudin Hoteru?)

<templatestyles src="Template:Hidden begin/styles.css"/>

Set List (March 11)
1: Frozen Beach'94 (フローズン・ビーチ'94 Furōzun Bīchi'94?)
2: Techno Girl (テクノの娘 Tekuno no Musume?)
3: THE DOUBLE OF WIND (風の分身 Kaze no Bunshin?)
HOT POINT - Yuki wo Furaseru (雪を降らせる?, Let the Snow Fall)
4: SNOW BLIND (スノーブラインド Sunō Buraindo?)
Speech
5: IN THE SQUARE (広場で Hiroba de?)
6: SONG OF THE FORCE (力の唄 Chikara no Uta?)
7: LOVE SONG
HOT POINT - Mazā obu Nabaho Kara no Hinto (マザー・オブ・ナバホからのヒント?, Hints From the Mother of Navajo)
8: Clear Mountain Top (山頂晴れて Sanchō Harete?)
9: Cowboy and Indian (カウボーイとインディアン Kaubōi to Indian?)
Speech
10: Rocket (ロケット Roketto?)
11: TAKE THE WHEEL (舵をとれ Kaji wo Tore?)
12: Virtual Rabbit (ヴァーチュアル・ラビット Vāchuaru Rabitto?)
13: Stormy Sea (嵐の海 Arashi no Umi?)
HOT POINT - Desutoroi Gitā de Tatakau (デストロイ・ギターでたたかう?, Destroy Guitar Struggle)
14: STONE GARDEN (石の庭 Ishi no Niwa?)
15: ISLAND DOOR (PARANESIAN CIRCLE) (トビラ島 (パラネシアン・サークル) Tobira Shima (Paraneshian Sākuru)?)
Encore
Speech
16: AURORA (オーロラ Ōrora?)
17: Haldyn Hotel (ハルディン・ホテル Harudin Hoteru?)
BGM: LOVE SONG

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Set List (March 21)
0: DETONATOR ORGUN
1: Frozen Beach'94 (フローズン・ビーチ'94 Furōzun Bīchi'94?)
2: Techno Girl (テクノの娘 Tekuno no Musume?)
3: THE DOUBLE OF WIND (風の分身 Kaze no Bunshin?)
HOT POINT - Desutoroi Gitā de Yattsukeru (デストロイ・ギターでやっつける?, Destroy Guitar Attack)
4: SNOW BLIND (スノーブラインド Sunō Buraindo?)
Speech
5: IN THE SQUARE (広場で Hiroba de?)
6: SONG OF THE FORCE (力の唄 Chikara no Uta?)
7: LOVE SONG
HOT POINT - Mazā obu Nabaho Kara no Hinto (マザー・オブ・ナバホからのヒント?, Hints From the Mother of Navajo)
8: Clear Mountain Top (山頂晴れて Sanchō Harete?)
Speech
9: Cowboy and Indian (カウボーイとインディアン Kaubōi to Indian?)
10: Rocket (ロケット Roketto?)
11: TAKE THE WHEEL (舵をとれ Kaji wo Tore?)
12: Virtual Rabbit (ヴァーチュアル・ラビット Vāchuaru Rabitto?)
13: Stormy Sea (嵐の海 Arashi no Umi?)
HOT POINT - Chūbura Herutsu de Tatakau (チューブラ・ヘルツでたたかう?, Tubular Hertz Struggle)
14: STONE GARDEN (石の庭 Ishi no Niwa?)
15: ISLAND DOOR (PARANESIAN CIRCLE) (トビラ島 (パラネシアン・サークル) Tobira Shima (Paraneshian Sākuru)?)
Encore
Speech
16: AURORA (オーロラ Ōrora?)
17: Haldyn Hotel (ハルディン・ホテル Harudin Hoteru?)
18: Cowboy and Indian (カウボーイとインディアン Kaubōi to Indian?)
BGM: RINGING BELL (呼んでるベル Yonderu Beru?)

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. · Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. · Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Hirasawa confesses about what he calls "transgressive tuning" of his acoustic guitar Susumu Hirasawa on Twitter. 20 January 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ 平沢進Live鑑賞記録 1991-
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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