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As part of our fifteen year anniversary we are releasing a series of mixtapes from the Home Normal catalogue. These are digital only and on a pay-what-you-like basis as a thank you for your kind support all these years.
The mixes have been carefully curated by selected Home Normal artists and friends. The cover artwork for the releases represents a sense of 'home' and is local to the curator of the mix. Each mix is presented as one longform track with links to each album below.
The eleventh Home Normal Mixtape has been curated by Shinsaku Ohsaki and mixed by Ian Hawgood. Shin is a well-known and loved member of the amazing p*dis / Inpartmaint record store, distributor and collective of labels based in Tokyo, Japan. The small team there have been behind the ambient scene in Japan for many years and are one of the main supporters of independent music in and out of Japan. They have been huge supporters of Home Normal and my own music projects without exception.
Shin was the highly regarded distribution contact point for many labels around the world until recently, and his leaving of the role has left a huge hole in non-Japanese artists entering the scene there in a much changed independent music environment. Through p*ds he supported concerts, tours and numerous releases since before we even formulated the label.
Through Shin we created a close bond with friends touring such as The Boats, Black Elk Trio (myself with Danny Norbury and Clem Leek), and Stefano Guzzetti to name a few. He supported shows with artists flying in from all over the world and whilst many of these artists would have seen the seemingly easy nature of the support, the truth was p*dis (and notably Shin) worked tirelessly in an environment that was costly and difficult to navigate yet did so with perfect organisation and dedication to each artist no matter how well-established they were at that point.
Without p*dis Home Normal would never have become what it is today nor had our remarkable history as a label. p*dis was the only distributor who never failed to support us (in every way imaginable) from the very beginning. They even helped to take over our stock in full for a period when I moved from Japan, and Shin even helped me in selling off my studio before I left in very challening circumstances after over ten years in what felt very much like leaving home for family reasons.
Our music has appeared in Tower Records, HMV, and a number of indepedent stores around the country, alongside art museums, book stores and clothing stores, all as a result of their work. I personally can't thank Shin enough for his support and friendship, never failing to show up to a concert despite his long working hours. He's a true one-off behind the scenes lacking any desire for attention or reward and when I often feel frustrated at the selfishness of many in the music industry, it is people like Shin, Phil Leigh at Norman Records and Osamu Matsumoto at Linus Records that I look up to constantly.
Thank you Shin!
Shin's mix is focused on our post-classical / romantic (as it was often termed in Japan) works which have been very popular in Japan and features some classics from our fifteen year period to this point.
credits
released April 15, 2024
Home Normal Mixtape by Shinsaku Ohsaki tracklist:
01 Komaya - For Lee, Danny and Clem - Love Retained / Ian Hawgood (00:00 - 04:21)
06 El pequeño zorro colorado - El libro de los árboles mágicos / Federico Durand (with Ian Hawgood) (Also on Slow Films in Low Light by Ian Hawgood) (15:05 - 20:16)
supported by 64 fans who also own “Home Normal Mixtape by Shinsaku Ohsaki”
As I drift away from the Earth and all its chaos, its gleam reduces to a speck in the vast cosmos surrounding me. I close my eyes and take my solace among the ocean of stars. Christopher Nolan
The experimental ambient duo of Ian Hawgood and James Murray complement downtempo beats with meditative electro-acoustic textures. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 4, 2024