Original 1981 release! Slava Ranko(aka Don Philippi) released only one album, Arctic Hysteria (1981), that quotes John Cage, Brian Eno, minimalism, Indian music Don Philippi (October 2 1930-January 26 1993) was a noted translator of Japanese and Ainu and a musician.
Born in Los Angeles, Philippi studied at the University of Southern California before going to Japan in 1957 on a Fulbright scholarship to study at the Kokugakuin University. In Japan he became an expert in classical Japanese and Ainu.
Philippi is known for his translation of the Kojiki and the ancient Shinto prayers known as norito. He also published a book of Ainu poetry called Songs of Gods, Songs of Humans: The Epic Tradition of the Ainu and a book of ancient Japanese poetry called This Wine of Peace, This Wine of Laughter: A Complete Anthology of Japan's Earliest Songs. Philippi was a noted technical translator.
Philippi was also a musician, learning the shamisen and the biwa both in the U.S. and Japan. In the late 70s, became a part of the San Francisco musical scene under the name of Slava Ranko, performing a combination of Japanese biwa and synthesizer music. (Mutant Sounds)