Masayoshi Fujita is back with a new album, Bird Ambience, on Erased Tapes.
Bird Ambience brings several fresh changes for the Japanese composer. Until now, he has separated his acoustic solo recordings, the electronic dub made under his El Fog alias, and his experimental improvisations with contemporaries such as Jan Jelinek. On Bird Ambience, he unites all these different facets for the first time.
He also makes a lateral leap from his signature instrument the vibraphone, on which he created his three previous albums—Stories (2012), Apologues (2015), and Book of Life (2018)—to the marimba, which takes centre stage on his new album alongside drums, percussion, synths, effects, and tape recorder.
“The way of playing the marimba is similar to the vibraphone, so it was kind of a natural development for me and easier to start with, yet it sounds very different,” Masayoshi explains. “The marimba bars are made with wood and it has a wider range than the vibraphone, which gives me a bigger sound palette with more possibilities.” He plays the instrument with bows and mallets, and sometimes manipulates it with effects.
We’re told that the “unhurried pace” of Bird Ambience “allows each sound and phrase enough time to be mindfully absorbed and savoured,” and that it carries ethereal remnants of Midori Takada’s minimalism, the static atmospheres of Mika Vainio, To Rococo Rot’s organics, and the bucolic electronics of Minotaur Shock.
Ahead of the release, Fujita has shared lead single “Thunder,” which blends mildly abrasive effects on the marimba with a warm feeling. It’s inspired by the poem “You Will Hear Thunder” by Anna Akhmatova, and it comes with a video directed by Ryo Noda in the mountain-scapes that surround Fujita’s new life in Hyogo, rural Japan.
Tracklisting
01. Bird Ambience
02. Thunder
03. Anakreon
04. Cumulonimbus Dream
05. Gaia
06. Noise Marimba Tape
07. Morocco
08. Miyama No Kitsune
09. Nord Ambient
10. Stellar
11. Pons
12. Fabric
Bird Ambience LP is scheduled for May 28 on Erased Tapes. Meanwhile, you can stream “Thunder” in full below and pre-order here.
