Various Artists - Virtual Dreams II: Ambient Explorations In The House & Techno Age, Japan 1993-1999 - 2LP

Released in 2020, Virtual Dreams II shines a light on house and techno-adjacent music that redefined ambient music during the 1990s. While Part One focused heavily on music from European techno and house producers, exploring new soundtracks for chill-out rooms and reimagining the future of club culture, Part Two narrows the lens to a unique time and place: Japan between 1993-1999. Despite missing out on the "Acid House Fever," Japan's club culture began to take shape in the early '90s. Unlike the rest of the world, where ambient techno/IDM emerged as a byproduct or response to the scene, "listening techno" was a central pillar of Japan's club culture from the start. Virtual Dreams II aims to shine a light on this unique moment when ambient music threaded through the emerging club culture in Japan. This period saw the birth of many great Japanese techno labels, such as Sublime Records, Transonic Records, Syzygy Records, Frogman Records, and Form@ Records, which followed in the late '