Thinking about sleep-inducing music with H. Takahashi. ~Ambient Music Edition~

Kankyō Records is a record shop located in Sangenjaya, Tokyo, that specializes in ambient/new age music. The owner, H. Takahashi, is a musician himself who has released minimal ambient works that have been highly praised both in Japan and overseas.

Takahashi's belief in the strong relationship between sleep and ambient music is a realization that comes from his own experience.

"I started with Brian Eno's music, and after I understood how to listen to ambient music and started to like it, I started making it a habit to choose one album every night before going to bed, turn off the lights, and listen to it. After doing this every day for a while, it started to feel like reading a novel before bed. When the music got a little darker, my consciousness calmed down, and before I knew it, I had fallen asleep. This experience repeated over and over, and I became deeply addicted to it."

This experience led to a deeper listening to ambient music.

"Works with titles like 'Music for Sleep' actually put me on edge. I feel like they're trying to put me to sleep, and I can't concentrate on sleeping. On the other hand, I tend to think of music as being too introspective, and inorganic music makes me anxious. I think that feelings of security and peace are more important when it comes to falling asleep, so I prefer listening to ambient music that gives off even the slightest bit of warmth."

Listen to this to have sweet dreams while feeling someone's presence

This genre is often seen as mechanical music that makes use of synthesizers and computers, but Takahashi says that what's important is the "human presence."

"In the works of pianist Harold Budd, who has performed with Eno, you can feel the 'sound' of a real person playing an instrument. For some reason, feeling the presence of another person makes me feel more at ease. In that sense, the music of the German composer Roedelius is very human and warm, so I often listen to it to relax before going to sleep. His works have a certain amount of groove, positivity, and brightness. Rather than being suitable for falling asleep, it's music that calms the mood before going to sleep and helps you have good dreams."

Takahashi is also an architect, and says that he is conscious of the relationship between space and music in his own ambient works. He cited ambient pieces with themes such as loving plants as the type of music that suits the interior space of a bedroom. "I feel it's similar to the 'furniture music' advocated by Erik Satie (music that blends in with the sounds of everyday life and is not something you think about when listening to it). In fact, listening to it before going to sleep is very calming."

[Playlist] Ambient music for sleep selected by H. Takahashi