Hitoshi Kojo. The title of the pieces of this record "Hiruko" and "Ebisu" are the two names of one mythical being in Japanese mythology. "Hiruko" is a firstborn child of the god, who was deserted in the sea, because he could not stand up by three years old. He drifted ashore to the land of human beings, and was cherished by the people. Then he was brought up as a god, and was worshipped by the people as "Ebisu".
Somehow I was haunted by the story all the time during the working period. Therefore the names naturally became the titles. Afterwards I knew that "Ebisu" is also an alias of "Ezo" which was the old name of northern part of Japan. So it was adopted as the album title. Although the theory that Ezo equate with Ainu seems to be disputed sometime, I chose the name as a tribute to my favorite Ainu mythologies, and to the folks. The image on the cover is "Ebisu" which has visited in my mind at the time. Although it's quite different from the traditional image...(click the thumbnail to enlarge)
The sound source of these pieces were all produced by "found-object" which were mostly found in daily commodities. The resonance of the inside of the objects and the recorded spaces were also treated as the material. The process to find an object which is usually not used as a musical instrumet was considered as a part of the execution. Therefore the founder's name of some of the objects were mentioned in the cover.
Also the vinyl record was fatally chosen for the album as an "object" which must be worn and be degraded by the condition and the frequency of the use. The noises by dusts and surface scratches on the disk should be listened as a part of the piece.