Riding on currents of the atmosphere.
Collecting the radiance of infinite stars.
And listening closely...

To the subtle howling of flames,
the genetic suns in the flow of blood.

To the caresses of the membrane of gravity
by your spiral tentacles.

To the wounds being filled with magma,
the splashes becoming the Milky Way
in the flesh of the sky.

To your blink-of-an-eye,
each a scale of Ananta,
each a lifetime of omnipresent stars.

大気の流れに乗り
果て無き星々の輝きを集め
耳を澄ませる...

紅炎の幽かな咆哮に
血流の中の起源の太陽に

重力の膜を愛撫する
螺旋の触手に

岩漿で充たされた傷口に
天の川を作る飛沫　
天空の体の中に

あなたが瞬く間に
それぞれが永遠の長さ
それぞれが偏在する星々の一生


Review

Even though Händel’s „Water Music“ was written almost 300 years ago, it has remained immensely popular until this very day. Apart from the fact that its melodic motives are among the most accessible and uplifting in the entire Classical repertoire, its relation to water, one of the fundamental elements of human existence, surely must have played a part in this. Maybe in 300 years from now, listeners will treat the output of the Mystery Sea label with similar love and respect. And “Ananta” could then well be regarded as one of its archetypal movements. For most of the time, Mystery Sea releases seem to dwell underneath the aquatic surface, hiding in their comfortable, dark mould in the remote corners of the Mariana Trench. “Ananta” is different. It consists of one single cluster of pan-spectral tonalities, which gently ondulates and changes its barycentre in slow-motion, but never moves from there. Even though the bass frequencies rumble menacingly and get the upper hand in the middle part of the piece, when it appears to be ebbing off into silence, it is the brightly shimmering upper harmonics, which have the strongest physical effect, drifting on the music’s skin like a glistening and glowing light beam. This majestic, supranatural and flickering aural phenomenon gradually turns into a part of the environmen, softly embracing the listener like a comforting aurora borealis. On top of this endless ocean, there is a dose of short wave static, gliding by effortlessly and dropping water-fall-like into infinity. The result is disturbing, yet intensely relaxing, just like a vision of a day on the beach: You’ve got your blanket, a basket with fresh apples and cheese sandwiches and a copy of “Waiting for Godot” by your side. What more could you possibly ask for? It all falls apart of course, once you start asking questions like: “Isn’t this too long?” or “Shouldn’t something finally happen now?” or “Where are the drums/melodies/vocals (mark accordingly)?” So don’t. It is said that Händel composed his “Water Music” to appease King George I. “Ananta” could well do the same to your mind. With a little luck, this will be a Classic in 300 years from now.

by Tobias Fischer (Mouvement Nouveau)


An immense double album of epic drone meditation from Japanese artist Hitoshi Kojo, Ananta offers two monolithic tracks of approximately hour-long duration. The first of these ('Strato Version') is a peaceful, somnolent intertwining of tones and drawn out waves while the second ('Mystery Sea Version') incorporates more tangible field-recorded timbres, giving the composition an expanded, more chaotic bandwidth and a greater dynamic range that contrasts the tranquilising first piece. "One of the two variations of Ananta was published back in 2006 as a micro-edition CDR through Mystery Sea. In composing the Mystery Sea version, Kojo purposefully eschewed the representational sounds of the "Night Ocean Drones" espoused by the label, opting for these aforementioned concepts. On this piece of tiny churning textures streaming along a linear path, Kojo's piece nearly achieves infinity, which happens to be the translation from Sanskrit of "ananta." While other works from Kojo enjoy the darkly elegant arches found in select recordings from Organum and Lawrence English, the Mystery Sea Version of Ananta fits more of the tradition of the Roland Kayn, Yoshi Wada, and Charlemagne Palestine in constructing pieces which require endurance, lest you succumb to Kojo's audio hypnosis. The Strato Version of Ananta is a previously unreleased composition, that bends and undulates around a fundamental drone, all the while still maintaining the sun-flecked glints magnified in the Mystery Sea version."

by Boomkat