Susumu Yokota :: Will (Skintone Edition) Vol. 1 (Lo Recordings)

Japan’s role in shaping both early and contemporary eco-ambient and avant-garde electronic music, intertwined with a uniquely philosophical and poetic aesthetic, remains profound. Central to this legacy, Susumu Yokota stands as a towering figure whose vast, genre-defying catalog—from minimalist post-classical to hypnotic electronica—embodies a refined sonic medicine for body and mind.

Reissues honor Yokota’s sonic heritage

The importance of Japan in the early and late development of eco-ambient and advanced electronic music, in connection with a distinctive sense of philosophical-poerical aestheticism, has been praised in my article published last year for Igloo. Consequently, I won’t insist on the obvious fact that Susumu Yokota remains a legendary figure with an incredibly vast catalog, ranging from elegant post-classical impressionistic minimalism to sampladelic music, jazzy contemplative explorations, chillout, and hypno-groovy pulsating electronica. To make it brief, he is for deep ambient and experimental techno what Yoshimura is for environmental new age music and Sakamoto for cinematic neoclassicism. One invisible link reunites these sound artists around a refined sense of sonic medicine for the body and the mind.

I discovered the work of Yokota through his more classical, melodious, and majestic lush textures, as found in an album such as Sakura, now considered a milestone of late ambient music with its unforgettable solemn and fragile aura. The historical label Lo Recordings recently had the brilliant idea to reissue Yokota’s entire catalogue in deluxe vinyl and CD editions. This initiative honors Yokota’s massive heritage after his tragic death in 2015.

Will is the latest reissue in the Skintone Edition. This album represents the most beat-laden and danceable hypnotic facet of Yokota’s musical signature, with roots in Chicago house, punctuated by soothing ambient-ish interludes and almost acid jazzy atmospheric tones. It is a definitely eclectic, dynamic electronic album, displaying many unexpected surprises and plural musical directions. It is perfectly elaborated, with style, spirit, and precision—quite recommended, as are the other reissues proposed by the consistently superb and surprising Lo Recordings.

Will (Skintone Edition) is available on Lo Recordings December 5, 2025. [Bandcamp]