Biography
Japetus, an Australian composer working in the new age style, never received formal musical instruction, yet he has generated material without interruption since 1977 after absorbing sounds from childhood onward. Early enjoyment of pop records prompted his initial wish to perform, but the Beatles’ split convinced him to concentrate on studio work instead. At twenty he isolated himself for a full year inside a modest forest shelter, practicing vocals and guitar while readying his entry into the profession. Once back in circulation he issued his own pop tracks and mailed them to Australian labels and stations, where they met only modest approval. Refusing to be deterred, he kept composing and recording while pursuing independent inquiries into spirituality and vegetarianism, the latter choice arising after a dream that equated a pig’s thigh with a human one. That path led him, in 1983, to commit to new age music. The change yielded stronger results, bringing honors from the Dolphin Awards—an Australian distinction for musicians based in New South Wales’ Northern Rivers Region—plus repeated commissions for soundtracks to books and television programs. A prolific creator, Japetus shaped his pieces to guide listeners toward greater insight into themselves and their environment. His 1985 Mystic Pathways Series consisted of three albums—Egyptian Book of the Dead/Kundalini Yoga, The Major Arcana of the Tarot, and The Kabbalah/The Zodiac—designed to accompany Nevill Drury’s Music for Inner Space and examining five distinct spiritual traditions. In 2003 he marked twenty years in the genre with the double CD Peace & Quiet.
Albums
