Space Is The Place with Sapphire Slows

Music

Tokyo-based artist Sapphire Slows began releasing music in the wake of the devastating 2011 Tōhoku earthquake in her home country, motivated to put all her efforts into musical pursuits.

Tokyo's Big Love and LA's Not Not Fun were the first to host her hazy experimental sounds on their platforms, fast-forward to 2020 and she's added international labels like Nous, Kaleidoscope and 100% Silk to her catalogue, and explored a wider sonic palette, from electro to synth-pop and krautrock.

Off the back of her latest track contribution to 'Fragments', a staggering six-part compilation by Barcelona based doyens Hivern Discs, we asked her to share some of the music with us that for her represents space in its different forms…

Follow Sapphire Slows. Buy Hivern Discs Fragments.

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Maria Teriaeva - Borneo

Maria Teriaeva is my favourite contemporary artist and a dear friend who first introduced me to the Buchla sound. We met for the first time at RBMA Paris 2015 and at that time neither of us knew much about Buchla but now we both have our own 🙂 If you know Don Buchla, he’s the amazing human who made this unique synthesiser with a cosmic sound. You could tell the roots of the instrument and the sound were founded upon ideas of space (He was working at NASA). Maria’s music respects and follows the history and background of Buchla but in a modern way. Super beautiful. Can’t wait to hear more of her music!!!

Maria Teriaeva - Borneo

Maria Teriaeva is my favourite contemporary artist and a dear friend who first introduced me to the Buchla sound. We met for the first time at RBMA Paris 2015 and at that time neither of us knew much about Buchla but now we both have our own 🙂 If you know Don Buchla, he’s the amazing human who made this unique synthesiser with a cosmic sound. You could tell the roots of the instrument and the sound were founded upon ideas of space (He was working at NASA). Maria’s music respects and follows the history and background of Buchla but in a modern way. Super beautiful. Can’t wait to hear more of her music!!!
Sapphire Slows - Speculation

This is the track from my first meditative ambient EP ‘The Role of Purity’ released in 2017. I wasn’t thinking about space at the outset, but it turned out like that after I followed what was deep in my mind while composing. My new EP ‘Emotion Still Remains’ also has the same theme, for self-healing, to connect your mind with space. It will be out soon so please check!
Premiere: Of Norway - Boo

Their new LP ‘The Loneliest Man In The Space’ is a really nice album. Spacey and trippy with lots of dub effects, and it also has a nice variety, moving through ambient to groovy house tracks. This track and ‘Favourite Mistake’ are vocal, emotive tracks which I can’t stop listening to.
Atom Tm - Green Paste

This track gives me a sense of what’s beyond time and space. Judging by his huge music library, I sometimes feel Atom might know every single earthly secret and earthly truth. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was an actual alien sent from space to tell us something important through his music!
Forma - Ghosts

Forma is one of my favourite bands! I want to see their live set so badly, and am constantly wishing a promotor will invite them to Japan soon or that I’ll be able to see them in NY. This track has beautiful, spacey pad synths and layers of short, decayed sound particles. Their music gives me a sense of space, that’s why their work is so fascinating to me.