#29 Feat. Staff Picks in Electronica

Even though he lived in the Netherlands for a while, Japanese producer and sound sculpturer So Oishi first discovered SoHaSo on his return to Tokyo, where he now resides. The Lithospere EP is his impressive debut for the Utrecht-based label. So Oishi's music has a unique soothing sensation while its psychedelic undertone resonates on various levels. The four tracks on this EP are simply phenomenal, whether you are into deep ambient soundscapes (Lithosphere, Rays), wonky break beats (BLOSC Figure One) or seeking a decisive Japanese answer to early Autechre-records (Nighthawk). While in The Hague, So Oishi studied algorithmic composition and sound synthesis at the Royal Conservatory. "I was doing geeky programming and developed my own software synthesizer and a composition program when I was there", he looks back on his Dutch years. He still uses both elements in his compositions from time to time. And it shows, because So Oishi has carved out his very own unique sound on the Lithospere EP.

So Oishi