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aglasshouse View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Topic: Thoughts on Kitaro
    Posted: August 05 2016 at 21:14
Awhile back discovered buried in my room a CD by Kitaro, or Masanori Takahashi, titled The Light Of the Spirit. I knew very little of the name but now as I go back and listen to it, I decided to do more research and discovered he was was one of the pioneers of new-age music. This album in particular is stellar, and I'm sure prog folk on here are familiar with him. 

I do know he isn't prog but I thought it might spark some interesting discussion at least, breaking a bit from discussion on stuff like "Top Ten Favorite Genesis Blinks".



Edited by aglasshouse - August 06 2016 at 20:22
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 05 2016 at 21:33
He was one of creative members of FAR EAST FAMILY BAND, and of course currently is one of the greatest musicians not only in Japan but also all of the world.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 05 2016 at 21:45
Generally most of his albums up to about the early-mid 80's are wonderful, and there's plenty of `genuine' prog-electronic stuff going on that's far more interesting than simply being able to be dismissed as "New-Age".
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 05 2016 at 21:48
His early solo albums are a hybrid of progressive rock and world music. Then in the mid-eighties he slipped into new age music.

For me, I enjoy listening to any of his albums that were recorded before 1984: Ki, the four Silk Road soundtracks, Tenkai (Astral Voyage), Daichi (Full Moon Story) and Oasis. After that, his music became too smooth. Another problem is, he tends to use the same rhythms and melodic structures over and over again.

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 05 2016 at 21:52
Love Far East Family Band, of which Masanori Takahashi was once part of. I have his first 3 albums, and all are quite enjoyable Prog-Electronic albums. Dunno why he isn't included here on P.A. yet, despite his Silk Road New-Ageness.....??
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 05 2016 at 21:54
These days I tend to prefer Kitaro (aka Masanori Takahashi) in Far East Family Band, but I used to listen to Kitaro a huge amount. The Light of the Spirit is good, and I do have that one, but I like his late 70 to early 80s ones more. Oasis was the first of his I heard, and then I got the Silk Road albums (I used to like the NHK series) and then his solo debut.

Kitaro's good, and may be what most got me into electronic music, but now non New Age electronic artists are more my thing. I haven't heard any of his post early 90s albums, but I have pretty much all of his up to the early 90s.

I saw Kitaro with Jon Anderson in concert in Vancouver, Canada performing Dream back in 1992. Also saw Spinal Tap perform live that year. Spinal Tap with Kitaro could have been incredible in an incongruous way.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 05 2016 at 21:59
Ten Kai is as good as anything by FEFB methinks.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 05 2016 at 22:04
Word, Tom!

Whenever I've listened to his first several discs, I've always felt they were legitmate `progressive-electronic' works, they just happened to offer a very gentle and dreamy form of electronic music (and there's a BIG different between that and very obvious, overly pretty `New Age' dreck).
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 05 2016 at 22:32
Yeah Ten Kai is I think his best from a progressive electronic standpoint, but I just grew out of Kitaro a bit (he used to be my favourite artist). I have a soft spot for the follow-up Oasis mostly because it was the first of his that I heard and I have very fond memories of that album (lived a little north of Cairns, Australia at the time).

Personally I don't think Kitaro would fit our Progressive Electronic category extremely well (happen to be listening to this Zanov right now which is in PE), and personally consider Kitaro to be more Prog (Electronic) Related (both musically and due to his association with the Far East Family Band). I think that they he did make legitimate progressive electronic works, but I see him as treading a different progressive electronic path from say the kosmische (and kosmische inspired) artists that that category tends to hold. I compare Kitaro more to the likes of Jarre who is in related than to the likes of cornerstones of our PE category such as Schulze. Anyway, can't say I care much about classification anymore, although at one time I did want Kitaro to be in PA (though I still saw more as Related).

Edited by Logan - August 05 2016 at 22:35
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 05 2016 at 23:35
^ Cairns is a wonderful place
From The Full Moon Story is another goodie !! I had quite a few on cassette but they're long gone. Now just have the first 3 vinyls.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 06 2016 at 05:03
The "New Age" tag is pure bollocks. It was used in the Mid-80s and early 90s as a cynical marketing tool for many symphonic rock albums because calling them symphonic Prog would have been commercial suicide. Many of them bear little resemblance to the dire relaxation and meditation, and whale-song discs that also got tagged "New Age"

His (symphonic prog) album Dream is excellent and there is nothing "New Age" about this track:


What?
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 06 2016 at 05:24
So when does Kitaro get his entry into P.A.'s database ??
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 06 2016 at 17:52
^I think he should be....  ^^Also, beautiful track Dean.  I did not know the he and Jon Anderson did anything together.

I discovered him in the mid 80s and got into a lot of his works then, not so much of late.  Past due When looking for his and other artists of the same style music then, you always had go to the dreadfully marketed "New Age" section.  Absolutely hated that term for that genre of music.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 06 2016 at 18:53
Originally posted by Tom Ozric Tom Ozric wrote:

So when does Kitaro get his entry into P.A.'s database ??

I'm pretty sure I recall someone mentioning that he was knocked back for entry into the Archives some years ago for being voted `New Age' by the team handling that side of things at the time?

Edited by Aussie-Byrd-Brother - August 06 2016 at 18:53
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 06 2016 at 20:18
Should this perhaps morph into a suggestion? If so I need good examples to present. I don't even know what genre he'd fit into- symphonic?
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 06 2016 at 20:29
The track 'Fire', from Ten Kai has always been a fond favourite of mine. That's a good example - has a full-band sound (searing Mini-Moog, bass, drums etc.). Perhaps the longer pieces off any of those earlier releases could (should) 'seal the deal' ??
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 06 2016 at 20:44
Originally posted by Tom Ozric Tom Ozric wrote:

The track 'Fire', from Ten Kai has always been a fond favourite of mine. That's a good example - has a full-band sound (searing Mini-Moog, bass, drums etc.). Perhaps the longer pieces off any of those earlier releases could (should) 'seal the deal' ??

Gotcha. I'll write it up now for a suggestion to symphonic. 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 06 2016 at 20:53
I'd hold that suggestion, Glasshouse.

From what I'm aware, once an artist has been suggested to the site and knocked back by whoever the group is that was evaluating him, there's "no second changes".

It's sadly why sh*t-hot groups like Light Year, which should have been a sure-thing for jazz-fusion many years back, are not on the site. Voted at the time and rejected, which I'm sure was the case with Mr Kitaro.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 06 2016 at 21:07
Originally posted by Aussie-Byrd-Brother Aussie-Byrd-Brother wrote:

I'd hold that suggestion, Glasshouse.

From what I'm aware, once an artist has been suggested to the site and knocked back by whoever the group is that was evaluating him, there's "no second changes".

It's sadly why sh*t-hot groups like Light Year, which should have been a sure-thing for jazz-fusion many years back, are not on the site. Voted at the time and rejected, which I'm sure was the case with Mr Kitaro.

It seems counter-productive just to never reconsider a band or artist after rejecting them once. Obviously there are people (seen in this thread) who agree that he is progressive, so I don't see why a decision made years ago holds any sway over our community today. I know that time changes opinions because it's done so for me, and with a community with fresh faces a rebuttal seems like a fair thing to do. 

Maybe others are okay with an artist's zero chance at redemption but I'm certainly not, especially knowing that I can make a good case for them. When suggestions I spend large amounts of time going over and checking tenfold, making sure I present the best of the best evidence, is shut down without comment just for the sake of "prior rejection", then it is infuriating to say the least.


Edited by aglasshouse - August 06 2016 at 21:10
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 06 2016 at 21:13
......and if Dean agrees with Kitaro being a valid Progressive artist, we may just have a good case
Also, I suggested Nic Potter several years back, he got knocked back. Now, by some reason, he is in. His work isn't too far from Kitaro's. A good outlet from performing monster bass for Hammill !!
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