Name: Akhira Sano
Nationality: Japanese
Occupation: Sound artist, composer, producer
Current release: Akhira Sano's Phase Contrast From Recollection is out via 12k.
Recommendations: Two Japanese authors, "Yoshio Kitayama “I Want to Spend Time Like That" (more here), Hiraku Suzuki.

If you enjoyed this Akhira Sano interview and would like to find out more about his music, visit him on Instagram, Facebook, twitter, and Soundcloud.



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

Imagining shapes, objects, and colors while listening to music is a common sensibility that we humans have, and I think that the alternative function is the part where our brain excels.

At the same time it can be an output and it can also be an input. I feel that these sensibilities and functions of the brain should be reconsidered in the present age when AI and technology are developing.

I open my eyes to take in a comprehensive perception of the surrounding scenery and music. At other times, I'll listen with my eyes closed when I want to feel the sound precisely.

What were your very first steps in music like - and how do you rate gains made through experience versus the naiveté of those first steps?

My mother was a piano teacher, so I always listened to classical music, nursery rhymes and popular music at home. I think that it is reflected in my current self in original experience.

I have experienced a variety of music, and interpreted it in my own way, and presented it as a work. But at the moment I have not reached a conclusion that can be evaluated what all of it means. Just when you think you've reached a conclusion, a new question arises, and I think it's important to face it.

The exact same thing also applies to your training and learning to become an artist. Since you can adapt training and learning according to your personal preferences, you can either go down the hard route of a traditional education or create music on the same day with a PC or iphone. To me, that's a good thing.

According to scientific studies, we make our deepest and most incisive musical experiences between the ages of 13-16. What did music meant to you at that age and what’s changed since then?

At that time, I didn't have any particular feelings towards music. I think it's simply because I was influenced by things other than music (for example, friendship, romance, family, school, play, etc.).

I think it was only after entering university that I started to really engage with music. After learning that you can create music with a PC or sampler, music suddenly became a familiar thing.

In that sense, it was as much an encounter with a method of technology  rather than just listening.

Over the course of your development, what have been your most important instruments and tools and how have they shaped your perspective on music?

I'm always thinking about the "relationship" with music. Just as I think about something when I listen to music, someone in the world thinks about something when listening to my work.

Of course, it's fun to express the tone and texture that I like, but I also like to imagine what it would be like to convey that to an unspecified number of people.

To quote a question by the great Bruce Duffie: When you come up with a musical idea, have you created the idea or have you discovered the idea?

That's a really interesting question! I have experienced both.

Rather than "creating ideas", it may be that they are often born spontaneously through experiences other than music. Whether it's in the morning while you're taking a shower or while you're reading.

When I "discover an idea", I often feel it intentionally and directly from the music.

Paul Simon said “the way that I listen to my own records is not for the chords or the lyrics - my first impression is of the overall sound.” What's your own take on that and how would you define your personal sound?

I know there are a lot of different opinions on this, and it depends on what kind of work you've done. But personally I can relate to Paul Simon's sensibility. Capturing the sound as a whole also means capturing each individual material.

Personally, I carefully create the texture of easch single sound, and as a result, I use a production method that derives from the whole and forms a single shape.

Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to the waves of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you've had with these non-human-made sounds? In how far would you describe them as “musical”?

It's not just that I am drawn to a special environment, special sonic moments like this can happen in all kinds of everyday situations. So it's hard to narrow it down to one.

I also think that there is no distinction between these two events and that everything can be musical.

From very deep/high/loud/quiet sounds to very long/short/simple/complex compositions - are there extremes in music you feel drawn to and what response do they elicit?

I have listened to and created various kinds of music so far, but at the moment I am interested in music with "low volume and few notes".

By focusing on a small sound and observing it repeatedly, you can see subtle movements, overlapping sounds, reactions and textures between sounds. It is important to carefully understand it and pay attention both while creating something and listening to it.

Could you describe your creative process on the basis of one of your pieces, live performances or albums that's particularly dear to you, please?

All the works I have released so far are important, and they are also a "record" of what I was thinking and expressing at that time. But Phase Contrast From Recollection, released on 12K in June of this year, feels like a true representation of myself.

As if re-examining the small cells of the body of the human body, I slowly layered (or broke) layers little by little, and at the same time observed the cells comprehensively.

Sound that is transmitted to the ear as vibrations in the air can also be felt as texture and temperature by observing carefully. This is a wonderful sonic effect that can be felt from the careful handling of pure notes. Also, if you carefully observe the sound, you may be moved by unexpected small movements.

It may be a bit like how we love our family, friends and partners and share small joys with them.

Do you conduct “experiments” or make use of scientific insights when you're making music?

I always take an experimental approach when making a single work as an album. We may also use scientific insights (ecology, philosophy, quantum mechanics, research into AI, etc.) as inspiration for our experiments.

It's also a time that I really like the work of rubbing inspiration, experimentation, and expression.

How does the way you make music reflect the way you live your life? Can we learn lessons about life by understanding music on a deeper level?

I believe music is a way to keep questioning your choices in life.

In modern times, with the development of technology and AI, and the acceleration of capitalism, we tend to think of things in terms of alternatives. In addition to music, I also create paintings, video works, and installations, all of which share the same idea.

Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

The finished product is completely different, but the production process may be similar.

A barista selects coffee beans as if he were choosing the material of the sound, grinds the coffee beans to play and arrange the sounds, and drips the coffee as if he were mastering it with great care.

However, the reason I want to express it through music is simply because I like music, and because I believe that music can resist "consumption".

Every time I listen to "Albedo 0.39" by Vangelis, I choke up. But the lyrics are made up of nothing but numbers and values. Do you, too, have a song or piece of music that affects you in a way that you can't explain?

There is a lot of really exciting and interesting music in the world. Johann Sebastian Bach is the music that really inexplicably influences me and that I listen to all the time.

I don't know how many times I've listened to the Goldberg Variations. I think his music has some kind of 'rescue' element.

If you could make a wish for the future – what are developments in music you would like to see and hear?

I believe that the phenomenon of music itself has become close to humans, and that humans have also benefited from music and developed together.

I don't intend to go into too much detail about the development of music, as I believe that the future will continue to develop in line with the people of that era. However, we adults need to create a society where children in the future can enjoy music without any inconvenience. So it would be nice if we could be of some help.