Wild Note
by
3rd-Craft
For this album, we invited specialists in traditional Japanese music, including Korey Deguchi (yokobue - Japanese flute), Ryuji Yuri (hichiriki), and Keita Orimoto (shakuhachi).
As very well represented by the title track, “Wild Note,” the whole album resonates with the roughness and toughness of straightforward rock, featuring violent odaiko (large Japanese drums), which sound like a giant Oni (Japanese ogre) stamping upon the ground. Also featured are raucous-sounding hichiriki, subtle shakuhachi, and delicate yokobue.
Excellent performances of these traditional instruments delve deeply into psychedelic and meditative areas, rather than staying safely within the realms of the smooth and predictable crossover between rock and classical Japanese music. As if in defiance of the odaiko’s ground-shaking sound, the hichiriki leisurely strides while the shakuhachi and yokobue dance high up in the sky. A chaotic beauty is wrung from the stirring improvisation between modern ambient guitar and odaiko.
When the Japanese concept of ma - exquisitely right timing - destabilizes the hypnotically recurrent rock beat, the whole soundscape becomes filled with mysterious vibes, out of which bursts the pure essence of rock. Contradictory elements achieve ecstatic unification throughout the album to continually shake the listener’s sensitivities.
Listening to “Wild Note” can be likened to journeying through a large sensual painting depicting a sprawling panoramic scene in hell. The deep aftertaste of listening to this album may be a lingering sensation of having touched a fragment of darkness embedded in the soul of Japan.
Also included are more nostalgic and straightforward Japanese tunes, such as a beautiful ballad called “Cry Not,” with lyrical piano and clear shakuhachi melodies. An ambient song called “Circle” features sleek and clear yokobue sounds.
Daisuke Muraoka (Production Staff / Overseas Sales)
“3rd-Craft” is:
Nash Studio’s in-house team of producers, comprised of Yoshinari Nashiki, Mika Yokoyama, and Manabu Kondo. They produce free and creative music by featuring different soloists and singers for each project.
