ONE DAY – AKIRA KOSEMURA

I was scrolling through my wordpress reader (which I do check quite regularly) avoiding all posts related to the Oscars or Trump, and I scrolled to this post from the ‘Stationary Travels’ blog:

https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/10648651/posts/1355986215

The post contained a few words that peaked my interest, Tokyo, composer & sound producer for film, stage, and television and Akira, which is an Anime that I really love. I went to my digital music provider of choice and had a listen to the album ‘One Day’.Thanks ‘Stationary Travels’.

Well, I was instantly captivated by the sparseness of the recording, how gentle it was, wistful even. Keys can be heard being pressed, piano pedals maybe, movement, making this recording of improvisational piano solos seem personal somehow, as though Kosemura is at the piano in the corner of the room playing for you while you gaze out of a window, lost in the moment.

it was recorded in one afternoon, played on an old piano at his family’s home which he has played since childhood. The result is music that is not afraid of space, of silence or needs to raise itself above a whisper, such is the confidence with which it is played, and it does have the feel of improvisation, just a guy playing his family piano, playing it wonderfully, for an audience of one.

The album was mastered by Mandy Parnell, a British engineer who has worked with Bjork, Aphex Twin, Max Richter etc.

Tracks:

1. pale
2. serena
3. foe
4. yuha
5. mizet
6. whit
7. frea
8. famile
9. luna
10. acari

I have a vinyl copy on order from Schole which I plan to listen to while sat in a rocking chair with a nice cup of tea, really, I mean it, Earl Grey.

This discovery feels like the on-line version of crate digging, browsing around, finding something that peaks your interest, listening to it, loving it, buying it. It’s not quite the same as asking the guy in the shop to give a record a spin so you can have a listen, but it’s not a million miles away from that.

I’m on about my sixth digital listen now and I love it a little more each time.