Image credit: Yunosuke Senoo
Japanese deep house music producer Lycoriscoris has left us spellbound with his latest album Chiyu released via reputable record label Anjunadeep. Listening to each track on this album, one feels like you are floating between time and space. Inspired by everyday life and its many challenges along with beautiful moments, Lycoriscoris’s album celebrates life. Featuring the song ‘Shizumu’, this track steers toward a more danceable direction, leaving one feeling liberated and invigorated. Known to be quite a gentle and reserved soul, this certainly reflects in Yunosuke Senoo a.k.a. Lycoriscoris’s work. We had a chat with the thoughtful producer and discovered that he is just as charming and sincere as his luminescent sound.
Tell us about your earliest musical memory?
I took keyboard lessons when I was a child. I didn’t like music at that time.
At what point in your life did you have that moment where you said to yourself “This is it. This is the type of music I want to create?”
Up until then, I had only listened to J-POP, and old UK rock, but I was looking for something more innovative and unique. When I was about 19, I discovered electronic music. I don’t know if it was a defining moment, but I think it was a very big turning point.
Please list some of the most influential albums on your creative outlook and output:
OK computer – Radiohead
Geogaddi – Boards of Canada
An Imaginary Country – Tim Hecker
Obrigado Saudade – Mice Parade
Eingya – Helios
Felt – Nils Flahm
Ma Fleur – Cinematic Orchestra
What key pieces of gear/software are you using to define your sound?
Battery 4 – Native Instruments
PerFourMer MKII – Vermona
What inspires you outside of music? What do you turn to when the creative well runs a little low?
Walking, driving, and snapping a photo.
Your alias Lycoriscoris is named after the Japanese flower that signifies both death and connection. Which song on this album represents the meaning of Lycoriscoris?
“the Japanese flower that signifies both death and connection” is a little different. It’s quite a long story, but let me explain ‘Lycoris’.
Many people don’t have a good image of this flower because it is found in graves and blooms in season, the day when the souls of the dead are supposed to come closer to this world. In addition, the flower is poisonous in small quantities, and people have given it various names with sinister meanings.
And while there are various bad names, there seem to be some good meanings, such as “passion” and “independence”. And the one that appealed to me the most was “until we meet again”. I don’t know why this flower was given this name, but I think it’s a very nice meaning.
These are really difficult to explain, so please refer to the English version on Wikipedia. Look at the section on “Uses and legends”. My English is really limited! I have used translations and dictionaries to write this long explanation, but I am sure I have not covered all the little nuances.
In other words, the most important thought for me in my artist’s name is “looking forward to the day we meet again”. It’s hard to decide which track best expresses this, but I think ‘Chiyu’ (to recover) and ‘Inori’ (to pray) do.
What is your opinion on the ever-spreading sub-genre vine? Are there too many? Do you think there’ s perhaps a sub-genre that doesn’t get the attention it deserves?
I don’t like to be categorized into genres, so I think that it would be rather interesting if there were so many genres that it could not function as it should. For example, it would be nice to have your own genre.
Studio work and music creation or performing and interacting with a live audience, what do you prefer?
Sometimes it’s good to interact with the audience, but I prefer to work in the studio.
Your Chiyu album is about portraying the recovery process during difficult times in life. Tell us about how music has impacted your personal recovery process during these times
With ‘Chiyu’ I wanted to make an album that uses a dance music format but also allows you to confront yourself and sink into a deeper place.
I think that by facing it, we can find a way to recover. I don’t know if I’ve “recovered” from any of my problems during this period, but I think I’ve been listening to music in a more self-conscious way than ever before.
It is not important whether I have recovered as a result, this album is expressing my “wish” and “attitude”.
As a music artist, it becomes apparent that there is a huge difference between the art and the business. Is there anything about the music scene that you would personally change?
I think there is a format that says that art, including the style of business, is what it is. I don’t think my music is art. And It’s not for business. So I haven’t really paid much attention to the content of this question.
Any new or upcoming artists on your radar? Who shouldn’t the world sleep on?
TWO LANES.
What can we expect from you in the near future? Any upcoming projects or gigs in the pipeline that you would like to tell us about?
So far I have released albums, but in the future, I would like to make EPs, singles, and remixes. Making an album takes a lot of energy.
One last thought to leave your fans with?
Thanks for always listening!
‘Shizumu’ features on the Spotify playlist HOUSE_GROUND.fm
Follow Lycoriscoris:
Website – Facebook – Soundcloud – Instagram – Spotify
