this thing almost slipped through my mind, been busy with research. Here is another all-time favourite: Akira Ito's Marine Flowers (Science Fantasy) (1986).

The cover image of AKira Ito's 1986 album Marine Flowers (Science Fantasy). It is a picture of ocean surface taken from just below the waves on a sunny day.

Again, I don't even know if this should be called "ambient". It is more of a soundscape (troublesome term, that, but let's run with it) filled with ponderous, lush synth pads, and clear compositions, drawing inspiration from classical, modern, synth, and very pleasingly, from South-East Asia. A definitely Pacific atmosphere - but this is not music for white sandy beaches, this is music for those looking at the islands from underwater, music for peoples under the waves. A journey into an underwater Xanadu, where we travel through the haunts of water spirits and other residents of this Pacific underwater kingdom. It's such an aural pleasure and a wonder that this was done in 1986, the production is incredible. Rhytmic percussions mix seamlessly with strings and synths, all bringing about a view from just beneath the waves, as in the album cover.

After the meditative and even majestic "序章 華やぎ / Prologue, Into The Beauty" the album picks up pace with a bubbly and bouncy dance of the spirits, forcing a smile on your face. After a lullabyish number which reminds one of floating medusae, and then more boppy wavy ocean spirit dances, the album hits hard with its star track, the tear-inducingly beautiful Prayer which is one of the most haunting ambient compositions put on tape. Woodwinds, piano, and synths create an atmosphere which stops my breath every time. After that it's deeper into the waves with Life Goes on, and finally we rise into another dimension with Out of Endless Blue. It is the end of our visit, and we leave a haunting beautiful teary eyed farewell to the ocean kingdom and to a truly beautiful album. Until we listen to it again, of course.

My grading system finds this work to be a solid 7/5.

Tasting notes:

Symphonic, melodic, bouncy, bubbly, ocean-y, like a weekend stay with the ocean spirits

Recommended for:

Moments when you want to sink into a marine fantasy and maybe bawl your eyes out thinking about the beauty our planet contains

Just listen to it:

-murasaki