Empires in decay.
Toshifumi Hinata's debut came out at a time when Japan's star was momentarily starting to wane. In response, he went wandering through Europe, taking in the waste and desolation of World War II that much of Europe never fully recovered from.
As a result, we get this strange, beautiful album of solo piano, like a mix of Angelo Badalamenti's early-90s soundtracks, the Penguin Cafe Orchestra and proto-vaporwave, anticipating the Neoclassical music of Erased Tapes in the '00s by a few decades.
