Nothing Space Music finds maya ongaku making quiet, patient music without draining it of movement. The Shonan trio use acoustic guitar, JUNO-6 synth, bass, Rhodes piano and hand percussion, with clarinet, flute and saxophone adding small flashes of colour. A TR-8S rhythm machine gives tracks such as “Astral Echoes” and “Flowing” a gently propulsive pulse, while “Thinkingscape” brings in contrabass, esraj, tanpura and field recordings. It feels carefully assembled, but never stiff.
The group formed around the seaside towns near Enoshima and recorded this 2026 release at Nothing Space Studio in Shonan, a new space they built near a seaside shrine. Tsutomu Sonoda handled the recording and mix, wrote the lyrics, and contributes vocals, guitars, synthesizers and percussion across the album. The short spoken piece “In Nothing Space” breaks the sequence open before “You are Silence” and “Permanent Waves” return to the album’s steady drift. There’s enough rhythm here for people coming from psychedelic pop or krautrock, but the sparse arrangements and long pauses will appeal just as much to ambient listeners. It’s a good fit for late nights, headphones, and anyone who likes songs to leave some air around themselves.
