DESCRIPTION:
Ken Ishii is a Japanese producer who debuted with the single Switch Of Love (ESP, 1993), credited to Rising Sun. His early EPs Deep Sleep (R&S, 1993) and Pneuma (R&S, 1993), as well as the album Garden on the Palm (R&S, 1993), the anthology Innerelements (R&S, 1994) and the single Tangled Notes (1994) showed a maturing composer who had a simple but penetrating idea about electronic dance music.

The single Fading Sky (1994) and the album Reference To Difference (Sublime, 1994) introduced his project Flare of elegant, lengthy ambient techno tracks. It was followed by the single Nettin Pure 1 (1995) and the album Reference To Difference (Sublime, 1995), probably Flare's best.

In the meantime, Rising Sun had recorded Green Times (Sublime, 1995).

Ishii's masterpiece is Jelly Tones (R&S, 1995), a classic of pounding techno music. Ishii's singles defined a new standard for the genre: Extra (1995), Circular Motion (1996), Stretch (1996), Overlap (1996).

Grip (Sublime, 1996) was the new Flare album, but the single Echo Exit (1997) and the album Metal Blue America (R&S, 1997) confirmed that Ishii was moving away from his early sonic studies.

The nine parts of Easy Filters, published between 1998 and 2001, stand as his artistic manifesto.

DJ Spooky and Talvin Singh add jungle and exotic spices to Sleeping Madness (R&S, 1999). Game Over (1999) is his techno routine, but the disco music of Misprogrammed Day (1999) proves Ishii also has a sense of humour.

Flatspin (SMEJ, 2000) and the single Iceblink (2000) are self-indulgent but still show the expert hand of Ishii at manipulating rhythm and melody for the dancefloor.

http://www.scaruffi.com/vol6/ishii.html