If there's anything I'll remember 2008 for, at least music wise, it's got to be this easy-listening music from across the world. Since I registered here on Last.fm, my listening habits have changed quite a bit, as I stumble upon a new genre every other month. Last month I discovered the so-called
neue deutsche haerte, and prior to that,
nu jazz
So, although drum'n'bass is my favourite genre, I can say I've always like electronic music in general, except for - yup, that's right - ambient. This year, however, it all changed. I first got into it when
I found out what minimalism was all about, but this was just the beginning.
Soon after that, I heard
Takagi Masakatsu's
Girls for the first time. The piano hooks immediately blew my mind away. It was a matter of time until I found my favourite artist, namely
Piana. I can honestly say I fell in love with her music To my surprise, many of my favourite producers are female, which is a first (at least for me) when it comes to electronic music:
Tujiko Noriko,
Sawako,
Midori Hirano,
moskitoo, among others.
Naturally, there are some outstanding male producers as well, such as
Kazumasa Hashimoto,
Kashiwa Daisuke,
Aoki Takamasa,
Akira Kosemura, and, hell, I can't be arsed to cite so many names: pretty much
everyone on this list rocks.
Sure enough, I do listen to ambient music from other countries (I love
Eluvium, for instance), but this music is so soft, so full of interesting layers... I just can't get enough of it (and I don't understand why I can't find anything similar from other countries).
Recommendations, anyone?