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It featured Jenny Lewis and, unexpectedly, a sample from Japanese electro-pop demiurge, Haruomi Hosono.
But the Hosono piece that Koenig honed in on stood apart.
He made this music to be played in Muji stores in Japan in the 80s, he said.
This music was composed to be kind of ambient tone-setting music for your shopping experience.
It was background music, or as the industry and YMO called it, BGM.
So how, exactly, did the cloistered sound of Japanese environmental music become cool in the West?
Or maybe you just had a hatha yoga soundtrack linger with you after class.
A photo from the Maki-designed Iwasaki Art Museum adorns the cover.
In the wake of Dorans mixes, more and more Americans began to seek out these heretofore-unheard artists.
So the curious turned to YouTube to make a run at hear more.
One of the most revered artists from these mixes was a little-known percussionist named Midori Takada.
She had put out but one album in 1983 before disappearing from view.
Its music of high artistic merit, and that alone is the root reason why people gravitate to it.
Which isnt to say that Japanese environmental music isnt informed by the West.
It ran for over two years.
Japans Satie boom soon dovetailed with a few other factors.
It was followed a few months on by the introduction of Sonys first Walkman in 1979.
It was incredibly refreshing.
These compositions could peddle consumer goods and were themselves a consumer good, providing ready-made environments for its customers.
