Building to an almighty climax, Yellow Magic Orchestra’s ‘Loom’ opens with a two-minute ascending melody. In music, this phrase is called a “Shepard’s Tone,” a kind of auditory illusion whereby octaves are overlaid, giving a sense of rising higher and higher. So, up, up, up, we climb into the heavenly notes of William Sheller’s chanson, whose 1972 album Lux Aeterna was composed as a wedding gift for dear friends. Ryoji Ikeda, in homage to Japan’s “Dumb Type” art collective, speak-sings spoken-word poetry. The gentleness of the lyrics caress his poignant piano chords, lingering like a delicious taste on the tongue: “Kiss me, Kiss me. Keep on seducing me. Free at Last."
