The short version
- Kitaro's first solo album. Recorded at Thunder Sound Studios in Tokyo from November 1977 to February 1978, and released on the Zen label in June 1978.
- Its original title was 天界 (Ten Kai), with the English subtitle Astral Trip on the cover. Astral Voyage is the name Geffen gave it on a 1985 reissue.
- Kitaro said he recorded it on eight tracks. He played synthesizers, koto, mandolin, guitar, drums and bass almost entirely by himself.
- Klaus Schulze is not credited on it. What Schulze gave Kitaro came earlier, in his band years.
November 1975, the Manor studio in England. A Japanese group, the Far East Family Band, was making a record, and Klaus Schulze was producing, recording and mixing it. On keyboards was a young player named Masanori Takahashi, later known as Kitaro. In 1989 he told the British magazine Sound On Sound what Schulze had meant to him. He already owned a synthesizer, he said, but Schulze really knew how to programme one, and taught him a completely different way of working.
Where it sits
Our Kitaro starting guide left this record out of the five and put it on the list for later. This piece takes it off that list.
According to English Wikipedia, Kitaro left the band in 1976, travelled through China, Laos, Thailand and India, and began working solo after returning home in 1977. His official biography says he released his first album, 天界, in 1978, and 大地 and OASIS in 1979.
Recording began in November 1977 and finished in February 1978, with a remix at Victor Studio in Tokyo that March. Taka Nanri produced. In 1989 Kitaro said he had recorded the first album on eight tracks. The credits give him synthesizers, koto, mandolin, acoustic guitar, drums, percussion and bass. There are only two other players: Ryusuke Seto on shakuhachi and biwa, and Lavi on sitar.
- Released
- June 1978, Zen ZEN-1001 (Japanese LP), sold by Victor Musical Industries
- Recorded
- November 1977 to February 1978, Thunder Sound Studios, Tokyo. Remixed at Victor Studio, Tokyo, March 1978
- Players
- Kitaro (synthesizers, koto, mandolin, acoustic guitar, drums, percussion, bass); Ryusuke Seto (shakuhachi, biwa); Lavi (sitar)
- Producer
- Taka Nanri
- Illustration
- Kitaro
- Also known as
- Ten Kai, Astral Trip (original subtitle); Astral Voyage (1985 Geffen reissue)
Tracklist
| 1 | By the Seaside | 6:09 |
| 2 | Soul of the Sea | 2:36 |
| 3 | Micro Cosmos | 5:18 |
| 4 | Beat | 4:38 |
| 5 | Fire | 7:27 |
| 6 | Mu | 2:44 |
| 7 | Dawn of the Astral | 5:21 |
| 8 | Endless Dreamy World | 3:14 |
| 9 | Kaisō | 4:36 |
| 10 | Astral Voyage | 7:43 |
Timings are MusicBrainz's measurements of the 1985 Geffen CD. The Japanese first pressing prints no timings. The times printed on the back of the Geffen CD are different and some are plainly off: "Mu" is listed at 5:10. On the original the last track was called "Astral Trip"; Geffen renamed it "Astral Voyage".
Through the record
- "By the Seaside". The opener; its Japanese title means looking out at the sea. This is where you first get the grain of the record. Do not hurry. Let your breathing settle to its pace.
- "Fire". At 7:27, the second-longest track. The credits give every drum and bass part on the album to Kitaro, so listen knowing this is one man stacking layers on eight tracks.
- "Mu". Under three minutes. Hear it as a short breath between longer pieces.
- "Astral Voyage". The closer. On the 1985 Geffen reissue, this track and the album took the name together. Let it run until the last sound is gone.
How to listen
- In one go, start to finish. It runs a little under 50 minutes.
- At night, with the volume a little lower than usual.
- If you have heard Oasis, play this right after it and hear what changed in a year.
What happened next
In 1982 the British magazine Electronics & Music Maker wrote that neither 天界 nor the following year's 大地 made great ripples at the time. 大地 came out early in 1979, also on Zen, recorded at Kitaro's home studio near Mount Fuji. By the end of that year he had moved to the Canyon label and released Oasis. The year after, he scored Silk Road.
In 1985 Kitaro signed a worldwide distribution deal with Geffen Records. According to English Wikipedia, six earlier albums were reissued under it, and 天界 became Astral Voyage. The cover changed too, to a photograph of a cave of stalactites reflected in water.
One track to send a friend
Send "Astral Voyage", 7:43, with one fact. It first came out in 1978 as "Astral Trip", and seven years later the Geffen reissue renamed it along with the album.
Where to get it
The 1978 Zen pressing, ZEN-1001, is the record as it first appeared. The 1985 Geffen issue is the first to carry the name Astral Voyage. Search under both names. Turn the lights off and let it play to the last track. When the final note goes, the dark in the room is what remains.