[Review] Kitaro: Oasis (1979)
Smooth sailing through space with Kitaro as your spirit-guide.
Kronomyth 3: Drinking most art in the desert.
Imagine vintage Tangerine Dream (c. mid to late 1970s) filtered through a Japanese lens and sealed in space in a synthetic Jarre, and you’d arrive at Oasis. Kitaro draws heavily from the explorations of past space pioneers—TD, Jarre, Cluster, Vangelis—and gives them an Oriental, Om-like twist. As with the best of Jean-Michel Jarre, the sounds are simple and evocative: the ripple of water, the whoosh of invisible space currents, the light of a thousand stars and the beating of a single heart. In this tapestry of electronic sounds, Kitaro weaves in acoustic guitar, timpani, the sounds of bells and native stringed instruments. The result is a smooth and soothing journey of sound and space. Kitaro has clearly studied the new electronic masters, so it’s not surprising to find elements of Klaus Schulze and Pink Floyd in the details. Whether it’s a case of drawing from the same inspired well or studied flattery, I couldn’t say. However, I will tell you that I took an instant shining to Oasis, a reaction I also had to the contemporaneous Stuntman from Edgar Froese. While tracks from Oasis have been included on various compilations (“Oasis,” “Morning Prayer”), the album doesn’t really shake out like that. It’s a series of vignettes stitched together, warm glow yielding to cold space, tunneling one moment, floating the next. Personally, I’m partial to the electronic music of the late ‘70s: Force Majeure, Equinoxe, China, Grosses Wasser. If those albums elicit a leap in your heart, add Oasis to your electronic itinerary.
Original elpee version
A1. Morning Prayer (Asa No Inori) (2:28)
A2. Moro-Rism (4:00)
A3. New Wave (Aratanaru Tabiki) (5:37)
A4. Cosmic Energy (Uchu Enerugii) (7:25)
A5. Eternal Spring (Inochi No Izumi) (5:46)
B1. Moonlight (3:52)
B2. Shimmering Horizon (Hikari To Kage) (2:50)
B3. Fragrance of Nature (Shizen No Kaori) (6:46)
B4. Innocent People (Mujaki) (3:53)
B5. Oasis (6:29)
All compositions by Kitaro.
The Players
Kitaro (Korg, Roland and Yamaha synthesizers; acoustic guitar; percussion). Produced by Takayo Nanri; engineered by Kitaro; mixed by Kitaro and Takeo Akiyama; executive producer: Kimio Ariumi.
The Pictures
Design by Manfred Manke.
The Plastic
Released on elpee in 1979 in Japan (Canyon, C25R-0030), the UK and the Netherlands (Polydor, 815 340-1) and Canada (Polydor, PDS-1-6501).
- Re-issued on elpee and cassette in 1982 in Germany (Kuckuck, 053/MC-053) with different cover.
- Re-issued on elpee and cassette in 1985 in the US (Gramavision, 18-7010-1/4).
- Re-issued on compact disc in 1986 in Germany (Kuckuck, CD-053).
- Re-issued on remastered compact disc in 1996 in the US (Domo, 71054-2).
