posted 1 day ago #
I recently found myself listening to
Horizon, Volume 1; a compilation of ambient works from the 1980s by Japanese composer
Masahiro Sugaya. The music is compelling and inviting.. have a listen:
... But what
really struck me was the artwork. There's a delightful balance between vibes - the extremely rigid and isometric vs the playful and handdrawn. Seeing it
animated is even
more riveting. The illustration work is courtesy of
Shoji Umemura.
Browsing Umemura's
instagram is a delightful romp of styles and mediums. Lots of illustrations but plenty of paintings and other mixed mediums. All of it has a similar playfulness and combination of vibes but none seem to strike the
exact same balance as the Sugaya album cover; more evidence of how special it is.
All of it is fun and worth staring into. There's even more over at
Panpro Factory and its
blog (this is a collaborative effort with Chiharu Watanabe).
