Susumu Yokota

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1961 – 2015

Susumu Yokota was a uniquely gifted artist and a true creative pioneer. His prolific recorded legacy encompasses an extensive series of pivotal 12” releases and over 30 albums, each defined by a distinct musical and emotional signature.
An enigmatic and compulsive producer, Yokota’s music grew from early sparse and emotive guitar sketches into groundbreaking, club-focused records, the overwhelming acclaim of which directed him towards complex experimentation and a pronounced rejection of formula.
Yokota’s evolution followed a mercurial course, taking cues from 70s minimalism and avant-garde, the Kankyō Ongaku of 80s Japan, British post-punk and new wave, pre-millennial ambient, Detroit machine music, New York disco and garage, European electronica, neo-classical aestheticism and multiple diverse strands of sonic abstraction.

His later works are characterised by a reflective, exploratory finesse that echoes Yokota’s internal quest, culminating in a sequence of immersive and ambiguous albums that continue to reward attentive listening.

Susumu Yokota is universally remembered as a charming, vibrant and thoughtful character, ambivalent to notions of success and recognition, who remained an innovative, inspirational force in electronic music throughout his life.