BGM: 1980-2000

Despite Muji’s minimalist posturing, their stuff is still way too expensive. The Japanese general store prides itself on a lack of branding and an emphasis on quality products, but their posturing as an intelligent alternative to thoughtless consumerism has (maybe inadvertently, maybe intentionally) also positioned them as a sort of lifestyle brand. Whatever you think of their products, something that can’t be disputed is that they’ve commissioned great music to play in their stores. Before their numbered BGM series of discs based on various countries around the world, they released a compilation of balearic new age, fusion, and ambient noodling—and it’s all at worst pleasant, though some of it genuinely fantastic. Among the music herein are two original Haruomi Hosono tracks (versions of which appear on Watering a Flower) that would become motifs he would iterate upon in later releases.