That Oddball Bergen County Genius Kramer Is At It Again

Written By Mike Greenblatt

PHOTO: Kato Hideki & Kramer by Jeremy Amar

Back in April, we told you about a New York City producer-composer-musician-filmmaker named Kramer who moved to the sleepy hamlet of Demerest in Bergen County. He’s also an entrepreneur having started the esoteric Shimmy-Disc label and putting out music by such notables as Pussy Galore and Urge Overkill. Next month he will release his ambient The Walk album with noted Japanese rebel Kato Hideki, largely responsible for the ‘90s “Noise” scene in Tokyo.

You don’t so much listen to ambient music, as you do breathe it in. Kramer and Hideki took inspiration from the poetry of Matsuo Basho [1644-1694] and Robert Walser [1878-1956]. The first sound of The Walk is the aptly-named “Tranquility.” Turn off your brain and your phone and let its vibes wash over you like the healing hands of a good masseuse. It’s a world of stillness, devoid of human ego, the only sound being of the void itself. Perfect to reach a state of mesmerizing THC-friendly zen.

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Mike Greenblatt

MIKE GREENBLATT has been writing for Goldmine magazine and New Jersey's Aquarian Weekly for more than 35 years. His writing subjects fill the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

He's interviewed Joe Cocker, Graham Nash, David Crosby, Carlos Santana, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Johnny Cash, and members of The Rolling Stones and The Beatles. He was 18 when he attended Woodstock in 1969.

In addition to writing about music, Greenblatt has worked on publicity campaigns for The Animals, Pat Benatar, Johnny Winter, Tommy James and Richard Branson, among others. He is currently the editor of The Jersey Sound.

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