Solar Ray

Music, words, arrangements, programming and production by Susumu Hirasawa.

Versions
A sound collage-styled song, mixing "found" percussion with classical guitar work and symphonic backing, the vocal melody is in pentatonic scale. A remixed, subtitled "SPECTRUM 2 TYPE", opens with a line from the chorus and the percussion is replaced by a prominent, more conventional take; released as the coupling of "World Turbine". Titled "Solar Ray 2", arranged in the P-Model style. Has an all new bridge, consisting of a guitar solo. A sample was released on Hirasawa's site in advance of the album. Live performance of "Solar Ray 2" with debayashi intro and "rawer" guitar work. The debayashi starts with a gamelan sample and keeps on with drumbeat; at the same time, Hirasawa walks down the steps of Monument Plaza onto the stage. When gets on it, he plays the gamelan sample again and proceeds by playing chant samples on the Graviton until the song starts. Rerecording of the Live Solar Ray version with different elements emphasized in the mix. Sweetening is applied to "key" moments, with audience cheers at the moments Hirasawa gets on stage & plays the guitar solo that weren't on Live Solar Ray.
 * Water in Time and Space, 1989
 * Susumu Hirasawa - vocals, all instruments
 * Error CD, 1990
 * Susumu Hirasawa - vocals, electric guitar
 * Hikaru Kotobuki, Kazuhide Akimoto - keyboards, backing vocals
 * Katsuhiko Akiyama - bass, backing vocals
 * Kazutoki Umezu - wind synthesizer
 * Shingo Tomoda - drums, electronic percussion
 * "Say" program (Commodore Amiga 2500) - voice (band member introduction)
 * Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Nurse - strings, horns
 * Solar Ray, 2001
 * Susumu Hirasawa - vocals, all instruments
 * Live Solar Ray, 2001
 * Interactive Live Show 2006 "Live Byakkoya"
 * The Way of Live 2: The Magic for Introduction, 2014

Connections

 * During a surge of surplus solar power on the recording of Solar Ray, Hirasawa laid a megaphone voice on top of the debayashi intro to "Solar Ray 2" and released it on his site as "Audio File to Honor the Hunter".