Artist : Masayoshi Fujita & Jan Jelinek
Title : Bird, Lake, Objects
Genre : Electronic
Year : 2010
Date : 03/2010
Bitrate : VBR kbps
Tracks : 06
Label : faitiche
Source : CDDA
Encoder : Lame 3.97
Length : 39:15 min
Size : 42,5 MB
Tracklist:
----------
01.undercurrent 08:50
02.workshop for modernity 05:06
03.I'll change your life 08:06
04.waltz (a lonely crowd) 07:04
05.stripped to RM 06:00
06.IA_AI 04:09
-------
39:15 min
Masayoshi Fujita & Jan Jelinek: Bird,
Lake, Objects
Queried on his favourite word in the
German language, Masayoshi Fujita will
pick ægetragenÆ û without a sliver of
hesitation. Further questioning will
reveal that he loves the termÆs semantic
signifiers, its inherent sense of
ôexpansive, deep, quiet and sombre.ö And
yet, ægetragenÆ leaves plenty of room
for interpretation: depending on
context, it might also indicate wearing
apparel or the state of being carried û
two more mundane interpretations that I
would rather keep from him.
Does MasayoshiÆs own definition,
however, apply to Bird, Lake, Objects?
Only to a limited extent. Compared to
previous Faitiche releases, Bird, Lake,
Objects is certainly the most ægetragenÆ
of them all. Nevertheless, this is by
far not the first association that comes
to mind. From a distance, these tracks
seem rather introspective, cautious even
û and reflect the recording situation:
deliberately pared down, reduced to a
single microphone in space and a
separate track for all other
instruments, each movement and action is
chronicled by the treacherous mike. This
confronted me with some unexpected and
unfamiliar problems. For example, we had
to swap out the seating in the studio as
my favoured chair had a characteristic
creak. Other, external influences proved
to be beyond our control: fire engine
klaxons, street noise and footfall
became part of the recordings and their
improvisatory nature. Each movement
required careful orchestration, fully
aware of its irrevocable nature. Space
itself was always present and an audible
entity, except on Stripped to RM
(recorded without a microphone or
vibraphone track). After extensive
deliberations, we decided to forgo the
vibes on this piece û a very similar
version had already been released in
2008 (on the compilation Enjoy The
Silence, Mule Electronic, 2008).
On Masayoshi Fujita:
Masayoshi FujitaÆs route to Berlin was a
roundabout one. Introduced to music via
Bon Jovi, his first stint abroad
naturally took him to the motherland of
rock, the United States. After a year in
the USA, he returned to Japan to study
film. His love for movie making,
however, proved less pronounced than his
admiration for Bon Jovi, a band he can
still quote and sing from memory. He
decided to learn how to play the drums,
followed by extensive vibraphone
training to craft and play his own,
mostly jazz and electronic-influenced
compositions. Determined not to stick to
traditional vibraphone styles or
techniques, Masayoshi started to prepare
his instrument with pieces of metal,
strips of foil and similar objects. The
resulting new sounds, akin to
distortions, help to expand the
vibraphone spectrum without eroding the
instrumentÆs intrinsic character or even
abandoning it altogether. Besides his
extremely reduced and deliberate style
of playing, it is this aural
redefinition that makes Masayoshi
FujitaÆs craft so remarkable and
noteworthy in my eyes. Literally caught
in his spell, it was a delight and
privilege to accompany his play.
On a different note, MasayoshiÆs
woodcuts should not go unmentioned. The
cover and booklet of Bird, Lake, Objects
present concise, abstract and monochrome
landscapes and thus a visual complement
to his music.
Jan Jelinek
http://www.faitiche.de