Audiopile Review: Music From Memory follow-up their triumphant Virtual Dreams comp with a second volume that zeroes in on the concurrent and wildly fecund Japanese IDM, ambient-techno and chill out scene of the’ 90s. While the first volume contained names familiar to even those who may only dabble in IDM, Volume II is a treasure trove of Class A tunes culled largely from releases only ever issued on CD, unlikely to have hit many ears during their initial release, marking this comp as an essential grip for any fan of ‘90s electronic music. Coming at IDM with a softer palette than their US and European counterparts, the artists showcased here were surely evolving out of the ‘80s Environmental & ambient music that had previously been the dominant style of electronic music in Japan. So, as you’d expect, Virtual Dreams II is soothing and utterly warm across the board—ranging from the outstanding enviro-ambience chime of Yukihiro Fukutomi’s epic “5 Blind Boys”, the deep-space synths and tribalistic synthetica of Ambient7’s “Escape”, to the slow-building cinematic downtempo of Modern Living’s gorgeous “Snow Bird”, the comp concluding on the placidity of Buddhastick Transparent’s “Eras (666)”, a track that nods to the post-classical work of Susumu Yokota with its clipping bells and watery piano. While the influence of the cosmic explorations of iconic acts like Orbital, MLO, Future Sound, Higher Intelligence Agency, FSOL or B12 weigh heavy here, the Japanese nod to their country’s pioneers by imbuing it with a vaporous touch. Several years in the making, this expertly selected comp (Jamie Tiller’s final project for MFM before his untimely passing) should do for ‘90s Japanese IDM what Light in the Attic’s Kankyō Ongaku did for Enviromental music. One of this year’s best compilations, hands down. First pressing comes with an OBI strip. Edition of 1000 for this first press.

The next installment of MFM’s popular multi-artist compilation Virtual Dreams: ‘Virtual Dreams – Ambient Explorations In The House And Techno Age, Japan 1993-1999’. As with Part One, released in 2020, ‘Virtual Dreams II’ shines a light on house and techno-adjacent music that helped redefine the definition of ambient music during the 1990s.

The focus of Part One heavily fell on music from techno and house producers in Europe, eagerly exploring new soundtracks for chill-out rooms and re-imagining the potential future of club culture from new perspectives. For Part Two, we narrow the lens to focus on a unique time and place, namely Japan between 1993-1999. Despite missing out on the ‘Acid House Fever’, club culture was beginning to take shape in Japan during the early ’90s. In contrast to the rest of the world, where ambient techno / IDM emerged as a by-product or response to the scene, ‘listening techno’, as it is known in Japan, was a central pillar of the culture right from the start.

‘Virtual Dreams II’ aims to shine a light on this unique moment in time where the thread of ambient music weaved its way through the music of an emerging club culture. This period saw the birth of many great Japanese techno labels such as Sublime Records, Transonic Records, Syzygy Records, Frogman Records, and Form@ Records, following in the late ’90s. ‘Virtual Dreams II’ features ambient, chill-out, and intelligent techno from these leading labels alongside other lesser-known but equally influential imprints, as well as ambient deviations from Japanese house producers. Much of the music featured has only ever been released on CD.

‘Virtual Dreams II’ is compiled by Eiji Taniguchi and Jamie Tiller, who have worked closely together on previous Music From Memory releases such as ‘Heisei No Oto’ and ‘Dream Dolphin – Gaia’. It is also the final project Jamie Tiller worked on before his tragic passing in 2023. Jamie had been researching, planning, and compiling this version of Virtual Dreams even before the first chapter was released, believing that there were many great tracks in Japan that fit the concept of the series. Knowing how much love and energy he put into compiling it gives it an extra special place in our hearts.

Compiled by Jamie Tiller and Eiji Taniguchi with artwork by Kenta Senekt, design by Steele Bonus and liner notes by Itaru W. Mita,