Henry Kawahara (Japanese: ヘンリー川原; 1961–2012),[1] real name Yoshifumi Kawahara (Japanese: 川原義文),[2] was a Japanese composer of avant-garde music. His music was an eclectic blend of experimental electronic, exotica and new age music. He referred to his music as "cyber-occult".
Biography
editAccording to the notes for Cybernetic Defiance and Orgasm, Kawahara was born in Fukuoka.
Kawahara was very active in the 1990s, releasing at least 23 albums. However, his work fell into obscurity because they were sold at occult book stores instead of music stores. Some of Kawahara's albums had anonymous front and back covers, such as the Horoscope Sounds and Love Meditation series, with his involvement only noted within the liner notes; according to Cybernetic Defiance and Orgasm 2: Other Sides of Henry Kawahara's liner notes, there may be more of these uncredited Henry Kawahara albums lying undiscovered.
He was closely tied to occult bookstore Hachiman (ja:八幡書店).[3] He also worked with the new age label Green Energy, where he would produce albums for others as well. His albums were produced to accompany the Stargazer, an LED device he helped invent[4]
The occult themes that Kawahara explored do not refer to the occult in western esotericism. According to Hachiman's Sugen Takada, the idea was to look beyond common sense and rationalism.[5] Hachiman's occult writings and rights to experimental Holophonics technology created the "cyber-occult" ideas explored by Kawahara's music.
After 1996, Kawahara lost interest in stereo music. He produced the video game The DJ-Rom for Sony in 1998.[6]
He was diagnosed with adult-onset Still's disease, and moved to Cambodia, where he died in 2012.[7] His music experienced a revival in popularity during the early 2020s,[8] leading to the release of a compilation Kawahara compiled before his death, Cybernetic Defiance and Orgasm.[9]
References
edit- ^ Emura, Koki (28 October 2022). Cybernetic Defiance and Orgasm 2: Other Sides of Henry Kawahara (Media notes).
- ^ Emura, Koki; Oki, Keisuke (25 June 2021). Cybernetic Defiance and Orgasm (Media notes).
- ^ Emura, Koki (13 August 2021). "立体音響と90年代のイルカ ヘンリー川原論考（時代考証資料編）". TurnTokyo. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
- ^ "スターゲイザーのビジョン体験". 47819157. 19 March 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
- ^ Takeda, Sugen (12 March 2020). "熱談!! 「68年革命」と新左翼系対抗文化から"大陸"的通俗オカルトの勃興へ". ムーPLUS. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
- ^ "The DJ-Rom". Archive.org. 1998. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
- ^ St. Michel, Patrick (2 September 2021). "The Mystery of Cyber-Occult Maestro Henry Kawahara". Bandcamp. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
- ^ Shibasaki, Yuji (16 July 2021). "【未来は懐かしい】Vol.21 90年代オカルト・ミュージックの極北、 ヘンリー川原の世界が今蘇る". TurnTokyo. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
- ^ "90sサイバーオカルトとメディアアートの地下水脈｜ヘンリー川原のアーカイブ作品が発表". AVYSS magazine. 6 May 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2022.