Yasuaki Shimizu’s 1987 Music for Commercials LP reissued for the first time

A Madlib Beat Konducta-esque trip through the Land of the Rising Sun.

Calling Yasuaki Shimizu a talented musician is like calling Michael Jordan a kind of OK basketball player.

Whether working with art luminaries like Nam June Paik, music icons like Yellow Magic Orchestra’s Ryuichi Sakamoto, or corporate behemoths like Honda, Shimizu is the type of versatile collaborator who elevates all of the projects he touches into something far more than ‘just’ sound.

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Shimizu is also the primary creator behind ‘80s Japanese synth band Mariah, whose Utakata No Hibi LP was one of 2015 best reissues.

The Music for Commercials LP – reissued 15 September 2017 for the first time since its original release by Crammed in 1987 – is a 24-track aural Japanese tasting-course that traverses folk, electro, synth, and the unknown.

“TV commercials in the late ’70s and ’80s didn’t advertise the practical features of products, they were meant to build strategic corporate images. You might even say they took a musical approach in their visual expression, though perhaps that’s an overstatement. Being restricted to a time span of a minute or less made it ideal work for refining my intuitive powers,” says Shimizu.

“I made a conscious choice not to remix the tracks for this album. The final version of the original recordings appear here untouched, although I do remember working to link the individual tunes, and on the overall mood.”

An inspiring essential, regardless of your music palate.

Pre-order a copy here.