The artistry of Midori Hirano lives in the resonance between sonic and visual worlds. Over her distinguished career the Berlin-based, Kyoto-born composer, pianist, and synthesist has crafted a distinctive voice straddling the spheres of classical music and harmonies with abstraction and invention. In addition to works under her own name, Hirano has released dynamic experiments under her MimiCof moniker as well as composed for film, television, art exhibitions and architectural expos. Hirano has also been a prolific collaborator, working with CoH, Brueder Selke, Nils Mosh, Teodor Wolgers, Ben Lukas Boysen & Paul Emmerich, SPECIMENS, Mami Sakurai, Atsuko Hatano, and more, contributing to dozens of releases. Hirano is acclaimed for crafting emotive works that stimulate all the senses with impressionism, or painting with sound. OTONOMA is the culmination of her work synthesizing these elements and highlights her acumen as a practiced and intuitive artist. The album infuses Hirano’s more classical sense of harmony on the piano with the endless textural possibilities of synthesizers. Like nebulas coalescing into galaxies, the pieces of OTONOMA emanate hues dense with subtle layers of color folded into gradients, arresting and radiant.

TIn Japanese the word “Oto” means “sound” and “Ma” refers to the “space” or “interval” between things. So, “Otonoma” literally means “the space between sounds.” In classical usage, “Ma” can also mean “room” which allows a different reading, “a room of sounds”. “I titled the album with the hope that listeners would move through these different spaces of sound as they listen,” Hirano notes. “Like moving through rooms, the album showcases my various sound palettes.” “Illuminance,” a foundational track on the album, has rich textures and a searching modular synth. “Ame, Hikari” was initially composed for a photo exhibition of Japanese artist Rinko Kawauchi’s work at Fotografiska Berlin and captures the rain (ame) and light (hikari) of Kawauchi’s photos. The stately lone piano of “Rainwalk” offers a minimalist, affecting snapshot of a moment in time while pieces like “Aurora” take a more wide-eyed, macrocosmic view with fluttering electronics and a surging drone.

Throughout OTONOMA, Hirano’s compositions seep over their sonic borders and through the complex intersection of rhythm & tone are an affecting listen. The intersection between sound and space embodies the architecture of this beautiful impressionistic album. In the deft hands of its architect, Midori Hirano, the music is remarkable for its reflective and connective beauty, a sensational sensorial experience.