So far, gratisvibes has covered CC music from places like Europe and America but we have yet to look at music from Asia. Hijiyama Project comes from Japan and is the brainchild of Hamish Low. Unlike previous gratisvibes blog entries where we covered EP/Albums, this time we’re covering a collection of songs that the artist may or may not intend to put on the same album. This is essentially a collection of completed songs or demos.

“Music production, software, songwriting and arranging is such a massive learning curve. Hijiyama Project represents my first attempts. ”
- Hamish Low

If you listen to the music and find that they’re a bit too good for first attempts, you’re right. The first attempts, however, have been 3 years in the making with songs spanning from 2003 to 2005. The Japanese sure have a way of being modest.

Overall, I find the IDM-esque tracks on the compilation very easy listening. Most of the sounds on those tracks are not harsh at all and if you need an intro to IDM that is not too shocking, this may be your ticket. Not all the songs on the compilation are IDM though, and quite a number of the songs on the compilation are also rock influenced with heavy emphasis on electric guitars riffs. This can be heard in tracks like “As the World is Warming”, “34 degrees” and later parts of “When Everyday is the Same”. I guess you can place those songs in the rock-esque instrumental electronica genre. Other tracks like “Somewhere near the end of time” fall in the category of ambient music.

Overall, this is a really good and dreamy compilation of songs that probably won’t get you weird expressions from your less electronically inclined friends if you blast it out on your stereo system.

Favourite tracks:
34 Degrees - Nice jazzy track.
As the World is Warming - Has a darker mood than the rest of the album and the most rock-esque.
Ko-mo-re-bi - I have heard a lot of songs using similar sounds of birds and trees and bushes and wind. This one is the best I’ve heard.