Where to begin? World Receiver is quite possibly the one seminal disc that defines what ambient music is. It is the modern version (although recorded in 1996) of Brian Eno's On Land. In the middle of 1996, Inoue put together a recording combining atmospheric ambient and soundscapes evoking distant lands, faraway places. Nothing though particularly new to the followers of Inoue's work or in the field of ambient at that time. What separated World Receiver from Inoue's history and from the rest of the pack, was the seamless blending of environmental recordings literally from all over the world. The resulting collage was extremely detailed and precise without suffering from the weight of hundreds of hours of work and editing. It is a subtle texture from Inoue acting as a filter to what is intended to be receptions of signals from across the globe through one 'world receiver' radio. This is the audio document of the memory of paths travelled, sights observed, voices heard -- arbitrarily collected and purposefully assembled to a magnificent end. Originally issued by Instinct records in 1996, World Receiver has been out of print for many years. It is held in the highest regard by fans of ambient and Inoue worldwide. Often cited as his best work ever.
This is an edition of 800 copies with a 6 panel full-color digipak. |