TEN SONGS: SOLOIST ANTI POP TOTALIZATION
As S.A.P.T. and as an individual, I have selected 10 songs that have had an impact on my music making. For the purposes of this list, I have excluded punk rock, which is what directly inspired me to start making music and more than justifies a list all of its own.
I list these songs in chronological order…
Rikinari/S.A.P.T.
1
The Rolling Stones
‘2000 Light Years From Home’
It's a song that doesn't look like the so-called Rolling Stones. However, it was this song that first attracted me to the sound of synthesizers and Mellotron during my adolescence. It is no exaggeration to say that this sound was my starting point. Brian Jones' addictive and violent Mellotron is the best!
2
The Pink Floyd
‘Astronomy Domine’
There was a time when I formed a guitar band with my friends. It's a song that makes you feel the relationship between pop and experimental. The reverb sound that envelops the entire song, the floating organ, and the lead synth-like guitar gave me a lot of inspiration. And Syd Barrett is my idol.
3
Silver Apples
‘Oscillations’
Pastoral and intonation-free songs, electronic sounds played by hand-made keyboards. In an era without presets and memory functions like today, it's wonderful to create repetitive sequences and rhythms by hand. It's great that it's a duo and not a band.
4
Conrad Schnitzler
‘Ballet Statique’
It is the most minimal synth sound and presence that has influenced me. An absolute obsession with creating everything with synthesizers. It is both artistic and scientific. My current guiding principle.
5
Cluster
‘Breitengrad 20’
On this album you can hear the transition from the minimal, spacey sequence sounds of the early days, to expressive electronic sounds. It is truly amazing that they can create sounds that approach so close to melancholy and the human heartbeat.
6
Ultravox!
‘Hiroshima Mon Amour’
This is the song that inspired me to start a band with synths. I bought a Yamaha CS-10 monophonic synth at a reasonable price. This is where I fell in love with synthesizers and drum machines. A great pioneer in expressing human warmth with analogue synths.
7
The Future
‘Blank Clocks’
Should we say that they are an art group that produces industrially with synthesizers? I was overwhelmed by ferocious four-note polyphonic sound on the Roland Jupiter-4. When I first listened to the reissued album, it was even more shocking because I was at a dead end in making music. The base sound of the current S.A.P.T.
8
Throbbing Gristle
‘Walkabout’
TG had an image of industrial music and noise music. But when I heard them for the first time, I was surprised at how pop and electro they were. I also liked the fact that they are genuine Roland freaks. And it is worth mentioning that they showed all the possibilities of alternative music.
9
Stereolab + Nurse With Wound
‘Simple Headphone Mind’
This is a limited time release from two big name artists we all know and love. The loungey electro of Stereolab is mysteriously intertwined with the noise collage of Nurse With Wound, resulting in a wonderful space sound. This is the first work that I have shown interest in collaborating with.
10
Splitting the Atom
‘Monkey Brain’
A unit formed by Stereolab member Andy Ramsay and former Spacemen 3 member Sonic Boom. This is also a limited time release, and only one 7 inch single release. The sound of Indian percussion tabla-like rhythm machines and the EMS-VC3 synths manipulated by Sonic Boom are pleasant. When I heard it at the time, I felt it had great potential for electronic sounds.
