Start Listening To: aus

We caught up with aus and heard all about his brand new single 'Landia' out on Lo Recordings x FLAU.

Meet aus, the Tokyo-born composer and producer. Following on from last month's opening salvo from his upcoming album 'Everis', 'Landia' is a unique fusion of Japanese taiko rhythms, folk melodies, and Gagaku music, blended with vintage music boxes and a chorus vocal section created from a preset synthesizer sound. With such diverse influences, aus has crafted a sound that is truly individual and intimate, yet uncharted and universal. Join us as we delve deeper into the creative mind of this talented artist and explore the stories and inspiration behind his music.

For those unfamiliar with your music can you tell us who you are, where you’re from, and something about the music you make?

I am a musician from Tokyo, who started composing music when I was a teenager and making eclectic music, mainly using electronic instruments. I run a record label and have organised tours and gigs with many artists from abroad. I took a break from my own activities, but this year I started working again.

Can you describe your songwriting process?

There is always a seed of inspiration. Sometimes a melody suddenly rings in my head, sometimes an idea is created by touching the keys. A chunk can come from nature/city sounds, someone else's music or other musical sources, but also from exposure to films, paintings, books and various works of art, conversations with friends, landscapes, memories, and all kinds of activities. It is often a short fragment, such as a melody, a chord or a sample. From there, the structure of the song develops. In the meantime, I add a lot of sounds: i know "less is more", but in my case I like things to be uncluttered and lean, so I listen to the rough draft over and over again and organise what I like about it to make it complete as a song.

What do you hope listeners take away from listening to your music?

For me, the album is a story about memories, but of course I am happy if the listener feels however they want to feel and if they feel something. Because music is personal.

Can you tell us how aus got started?

I originally let my brother listen to cassettes I'd made myself on synthesizer, and at some point we started making them together. But the level he was demanding was too high, and I was getting tired of not completing more than a few songs in a few years. At the same time, my brother had also gone into video production. Then I started doing it alone.

I gave my demos to Linus Records, a wonderful record shop in Tokyo that I went to when I was at university, and they recommended that I send them to a label, so I released them on an electronic music label called U-Cover in Antwerp. That's how it all started.

How did you come up with the name aus?

When I was at university, I was part of a group that studied German culture, and it was then that I came across a song called Das Lied ist aus, by Marlene Dietrich. i was impressed In one verse of the song, 'Das Lied ist aus, die Melodie verklungen Nichts blieb von der Musik zurück".

aus means ‘end', but also ‘out'. I felt that it was an appropriate name to express what is inside me. But so far, various labels have advised me to change my moniker because it sounds like I've been doing minimal techno, lol.

Incidentally, I was also part of a circle that studied chansons.

How would you describe your sound?

mmm, distorted and sensitivel, not organised, sometimes too sweet.

Can you tell us more about the inspiration behind your song "Landia”?

Inspiration came from a Japanese radio station called St Giga, which I enjoyed as a child.

It was the world's first satellite-based digital radio station - no DJs, no MCs, no talk, just high-quality field recordings, jazz, new age and pop music from around the world played over a time signal.

I wanted to create something like a connection to that world, but in the opposite way to theirs - as lo-fi and unfinished t as possible.

Not exoticism for foreign audiences, but something that would dig into a smaller world, my inner world and memories, and connect with the melodies I have. It is a testament to the many places I have been.

What track from Everis are you most excited for people to hear?

Swim and Neanic. Sorry its two.

Name an artist you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why?

Depeche Mode. When I was little I went to Yamaha electone classes and I had a very complex feeling when I compared that instrument to the piano. I felt like something wasn't real. The touch is light and I wonder what I can use this left foot movement for in the future. When I first listened to Depeche Mode, I was impressed by the deep spirituality that can be expressed in synth pop. I was also impressed by the fact that I didn't know anyone around me who listened to them (they are not as well known in Japan as they are in Europe and the UK). I got to know a lot of artists through their remixes.

What do you love right now?

green tea.

What do you hate right now?

long covid, As I write this, I continue to have an irregular heartbeat :(

Are there any particular artists or bands that have influenced your music?

There are so many it's hard to choose, but when it comes to this album, David Shea, Faust, Lisa Germano, People Like Us, Peter Garland, Sun City Girls, Ulf Lohman and Virginia Astley. I also listened to classical music such as Mahler and Ravel, early electronic music and Japanese composers such as Takashi Yoshimatu and Somei Sato.

What’s next for aus?

The album Lang, which I made a long time ago, will be reissued on LP next month.

There will also be some collaborations and remixes released. I'm also working on new material.

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians just starting out?

There may be no one in your immediate vicinity who understands you (your music). But the world is a very big place, and the more you can test its breadth, the easier it will be to find someone who will see the value in it. Don't give up if there is no one nearby. It just means they are not nearby, but that doesn't mean they are nowhere to be found.