Classical/electronic music made by a real gamer. The stunning debut album from Takao, a new-generation talent nurtured in the musical soil of the net.

Takao openly cites Motohiko Hamase, Toru Takemitsu, Akio Niitsu, Yasushi Akutagawa, Yan Tomita, Sean McCann and others as influences, but for him there's no distinction between old and new, famous and obscure among these forebears — certain works he happened to access simply set his creative drive in motion, and 'Stealth' is the unpretentious crystallization of the inspiration he drew from them. As a result, 'Stealth' brims with the joy and imagination of composing, and it carries a presence rarely seen (or felt) in recent years, in that comfortable beauty coexists with an unexpected depth that surfaces the more you listen. Completed over a year and a half, 'Stealth' runs 13 tracks in 33 minutes (!) — an unusually short length for work in this vein — and although no two pieces share the same form, it offers a seamless ambient listening experience. It's as though it mirrors the face of the sea on a clear day, just like the cover art (photo taken by Takao himself in Shonan). Note too Takao's sonic sensibility: understated, yet meticulously considered. This is a formidable talent well worth keeping an eye on. (Original Japanese text by Saito)