Yoshiaki Ochi

𝙒𝙍𝙒𝙏𝙁𝙒𝙒 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨 𝙪𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙞𝙡𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙉𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙎𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙘, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 1990 𝙚𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙪𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙞𝙚𝙘𝙚 𝙗𝙮 𝙅𝙖𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙔𝙤𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙖𝙠𝙞 𝙊𝙘𝙝𝙞—𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙠𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙮ō 𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙠𝙪 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙝𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙣 𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙮𝙡 𝙞𝙣 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙜 𝙜𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙮, 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙤𝙗𝙞 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙮𝙬𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙨𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙫𝙚.

Originally released in Japan on the visionary NEWSIC label run by Wacoal Art Center / Spiral, Natural Sonic captures Ochi’s elemental approach to sound—using wood, water, stone, and skin as instruments to create a percussive dialogue with nature itself. At the time, Ochi was serving as in-house composer and performer for fashion icon Issey Miyake, and the album reflects that same sense of artistry and forward-thinking experimentation.

The result is music at once ritualistic and meditative, with pieces that blur avant-garde percussion, environmental sound art, and spiritual minimalism. Echoes of Midori Takada’s timeless Through the Looking Glass and Geinoh Yamashirogumi’s Ecophony Gaia resonate here, yet Ochi’s work is strikingly unique—breathing with an organic pulse that feels alive.

Part of the celebrated NEWSIC environmental music catalog, alongside Yoshio Ojima’s Une Collection des Chaînons and Motohiko Hamase’s Notes of Forestry, Natural Sonic is finally restored for a new generation. A rare treasure of Japanese experimental music, its resonance, restraint, and ecological imagination make it essential listening for fans of ambient, percussion, kankyō ongaku, and the golden age of Japanese sound art.