*300 copies limited release* Commissioned in 2019 to bridge two bathing cultures—one Japanese, one American—Practical translates the healing steam of Beppu's legendary Kannawa Mushiyu Onsen into immersive sound for Washington Baths, a neighborhood public sauna and artspace in Portland, Maine. The result is a vapor-bath of sound that hovers somewhere between foley and ambient composition, inspired by the mind-altering fragrance of sekishō (石菖, Japanese sweet flag), an ancient medicinal herb whose mystical scent saturates the stone chamber of the onsen’s most famous bath.
Created by artist Ken Sugai under the name てるぺん (Terpene)—referring to the aromatic compound found in sekishō—the work unfolds in four parts that form a kind of recipe for a proper sweat-bathing cycle: "Sauna" → "Mizuburo" (Cold bath) → "Gaikiyoku" (Magical Relax) → "Kamin-space" (Nap space). Built from pseudo-field recordings and synthesized sounds, the compositions are presented as a series of scenes—sensory depictions—each its own self-contained world. Practical imagines the fragrance of sekishō as a kind of vibration, an invisible healing thread, a realm of purification and quiet presence braided across space and time.
Ken Sugai is a Kanagawa-based sound artist whose work explores the natural environment, memory, and the subtle textures of daily life. Using field recordings, pseudo-field recordings, synthesis, and delicate electroacoustic processing, he creates vivid contemporary concrète rooted in the landscapes and folk rituals of Japan. His releases on labels such as RVNG Intl. and EM Records have positioned him as one of Japan’s most singular electroacoustic voices. His collaborations with such artists as Foodman, Leiven Martens, Andrew Peckler, among others… as well as commissions by the Dutch Embassy, and Ujikoen Co. Ltd, a 150 year-old Kyoto-based tea company, have earned him a reputation for crafting striking, uncanny sonic realms where the natural and the artificial fold into one another.
The physical release for this record has been meticulously hand-crafted from top to bottom. Because of the extreme dynamic range of Sugai’s original recordings—well beyond what standard lacquer-cutting equipment can accommodate—the master plates were cut on a specialty half-speed lathe, the only system of its kind currently operating in the United States. The half-speed process has the benefit, beyond making a vinyl release of this music possible, of preserving the subtle detail and expansive dynamics of the work to an impeccable degree. The recordings were mastered at half-speed by Frederic Stader in Germany, with plating and pressing completed at RTI, ensuring the highest fidelity from master to vinyl.
Artist Elizabeth Atterbury created a unique white on white blank debossment print for the record jackets, each one hand-printed, pressed, and assembled by David Wolfe at Wolfe Editions in Portland, Maine. The result is a truly rare and ephemeral object—a limited edition imbued with the hands and spirit of a group of artists and craftspeople working at the very top of their game.
