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and/OAR is very pleased to present this double CD release by
Japanese sound artist Kiyoshi Mizutani. The second CD is a cross
platform enhanced CD containing audio that can be played on a
regular CD player, plus two PDFs that can be viewed on a computer.

One PDF contains a photo gallery of Kiyoshi's journey around the
Tanzawa mountain region of Japan. The second PDF contains a
very large topographic map with recording points corresponding to
the track numbers. Since the map is a very large file size, it is
recommended that you drag the PDF onto your desktop for faster
viewing. The closer into the map one goes, the more detail of the
landscape one sees. Both the audio and the PDFs can be
accessed at the same time on a computer. The insert also contains
a quick reference map corresponding to each track number.

The audio portion of this release relays a kind of tranquil and
introspective sonic journey through the rugged yet mystical terrain.
The region is full of historical significance, natural beauty and
folklore (as referred to in the title). Although this release mostly
features straight field recordings, there are also some composed
impressionistic moments that have been inherent in much of
Kiyoshi's previous work.

Also presented are recordings of certain Shinto and Buddhist
ceremonies and rituals rarely heard outside of Japan.

"These just released field recordings were made in the Tanzawa
region southwest of Tokyo. The Tanzawa range, a group of isolated
mountains separating the areas formerly known as Kai, Musashi,
and Sagami, has a vivid history. It was the scene of many historic
conflicts, including the battle between Takeda and Hojo; a home
and hiding place for defeated soldiers fleeing the enemy; and the
site of such legends as the tragedy of the losing army's princess. It
was also the location of the Hasuge and Hinata ascetics' route, a
few traces of which can still be found.
The recordings came about as a result of my interest in this
mountainous "border" region - the people who have lived there, the
natural features, the scenery. In addition to presenting Tanzawa as it
is today, it sheds light on the area's past. The
recorded sounds can be divided into categories such as natural
occurrences, animals, man-made structures, and folk traditions.
The combination of elements found in a particular location
determines the character of its atmosphere. To make tis CD, I put
the different combinations together in a manner of a sonic photo
book. Rather than looking for a meaning in individual sounds, I
suggest listening with the feeling of gazing at various landscapes,
one after another. In any case, the cognitive consistency one
maintains when listening to contemporary music is not a
requirement here." (Kiyoshi Mizutani)

VITAL WEEKLY
number 526 week 20 (MAY 2006)
In the releases of the and/OAR label field recordings are always
important, but the label doesn't exclusively work with that. The
double CD by Kiyoshi Mizutani should be listened with headphone
or in winter time with all windows closed. Recordings were made in
the Tanzawa Mountains, where-ever that might be, or why they are
special, I don't know. Probably it is some kind of holy place, since
we hear some tracks of people chanting. The majority of the pieces
however deal with bird sounds, water falls, rain but also a
power-plant and a substation. All recorded with no sound
processing whatever, meaning all the recordings are presented in
the purest form. Some of the pieces mingle very nicely with your
environment, certainly when on hot spring day windows are open. Is
that my bird or your bird, Mizutani? A beautiful sound picture these
two CDs, excellent recordings. A pity that the information side is a bit
sparse, but that would be my only complaint. The pictures are great!
(Frans De Waard)

PARIS TRANSATLANTIC (JULY 2006)
Once a member of Merzbow, in recent times Kiyoshi Mizutani has
shifted the focus of his work towards field recording, capturing the
reality of almost forgotten, obscure signs of life. I became aware of
his recent output through the fantastic collaborations with Daniel
Menche, Garden on Auscultare Research and Song of Jike on Niko,
on which the Japanese soundscaper weaves a timestretching
mantle of environmental recordings around the shoulders of his
American partner. So Scenery of the Border is not only a safe bet –
it's a spiritual initiation. Tanzawa is a Japanese mountain region
whose desolate beauty is finely documented by the author's photos
in the exquisite cover artwork (more pictures are available on the
enhanced second disc). He applies the same basic principles to
his recordings: between November 2002 and February 2004 he took
24 aural snapshots of these territories, translating broken silences,
sacred ceremonies, background energies and his own self-
imposed solitude into a wholeness we can observe respectfully
while remaining in awe of acoustic phenomena that ignorance
might define as "normal" but which are essential for the organic life
of our being, even when taken out of their original context. Birdsong,
for example (one of Mizutani's best albums, Bird Songs on Ground
Fault, consists of little else): chirps and whistles are captured with
such mastery you can almost see the morning light through the
branches and feel the dampness around you. Other impressive
segments feature the rustling noise of feet on fallen leaves, the
poignant mumble of passing airplanes (another favourite sound in
this writer's emotional archive), the humming of power plants and
substations and the ominous severity of the wind brushing on the
microphone. But what really seems to be omnipresent is water: a
continuous flow of rain, waterfalls, streams and rivers, a moisture
you can almost smell. The path to awareness starts here.
(Massimo Ricci)

SMALLFISH (JULY 2006)
This enchanting piece of environmental sound / field recording work
is a wonderfully relaxing and engaging way to begin or end your day.
Believe me, I was chilling to it last night and again first thing this
morning. Mizutani has captured the essence of the magical sounds
that are to be found in the unspoilt Japanese mountains (something
I'm lucky enough to have experienced first hand). Be it the gentle
burbling of a river, the general ambience of the forested hillsides or
the hypnotic chanting in a Buddhist temple, he takes you on a
voyage of discovery that, for me, is easily up there with the work of
Chris Watson. A beautifully packaged and realised work. Superb.
(Mike Oliver)

AQUARIUS RECORDS (APRIL 2007)
A few years back, Kiyoshi Mizutani ventured into the Tanzawa
mountain range located to the southwest of Tokyo in order to
document the sounds of that very isolated region. In the liner notes
to this album, Mizutani explains that this region enjoys a complex
history with centuries worth of military endeavors and legends
including one tragedy which Mizutani alludes to about "the losing
army's princess." Needless to say, the mountains may have been of
strategic importance to any number of rival factions; but by now, their
remoteness and desolation harbors only a small population. He
focuses his attention upon three aspects of those mountains: the
natural (which is the dominant voice of the Tanzawan environment),
the ceremonial folklore of the people, and the residual noise of the
man-made. Mizutani's love of bird sounds was evident on one of his
early sound works simply entitled Bird Songs; and the spirited
chatter of many a bird dots Mizutani's field recordings. Crickets,
cicadas, and plenty of insect choruses also feature into Scenery Of
The Border, as does a broad range of watery recordings from quiet
drips from a misty rain to the immersive white noise of waterfalls.
The few recordings that feature a human presence are of restrained
Shinto and Buddhist ceremonies, which Mizutani mentions have
rarely been heard outside of that region. It's these ritualistic
stompings and hushed bits of chanting that stand amongst the
highlights of this incredible field recording document. (Jim Haynes)