Following on from his acclaimed works Stories and Apologues, Berlin-based
composer and vibraphonist Masayoshi Fujita will release his new album Book of
Life, the third instalment in a trilogy of solo vibraphone recordings, on July
27th via Erased Tapes. Stories, the first in the series and Masayoshi’s debut
under his own name, will be re-issued by Erased Tapes at the same time. With
Book of Life Masayoshi continues his mission in bringing the vibraphone — a
relatively new invention in the history of instruments often kept in the
background in orchestras and jazz outfits — into the spotlight. Having
trained as a drummer, Masayoshi began experimenting with the vibraphone,
preparing its bars with kitchen foil or beads, playing it with the cello bow
such as in Fog or using the other end of the mallets to create a more ambient
texture of sound, as with the title track. Focussing on the vibraphone in this
way sets Masayoshi apart, dedicating his artistic life to celebrating this
fascinating and often underappreciated instrument and making his take on ambient
and modern compositional styles a unique one. “I think the vibraphone is
capable of more interesting and beautiful sounds that haven’t been heard
before. It’s quite a new instrument but it’s often played in a similar
way. I feel that there is a lot more to explore with this exciting
instrument.” Book of Life sees Masayoshi expand on his compositional skills,
bringing in more orchestral elements such as strings, brass and even a choir to
interact with the vibraphone. And not just any choir — members of this chorus
include musical friends Peter Broderick, Hatis Noit, David Allred and Shards who
featured on Nils Frahm’s latest album All Melody. The instruments come to
represent characters in Masayoshi’s stories, hinted at in each accompanying
text contained in the album booklet, which Masayoshi recites at his live
performances. They set the scene for each piece, for example “the choir in
Misty Avalanche is meant to resemble the blizzard, while the vibraphone is the
bird hovering above,” he
explains. The title track however, was unusual from the start; “Book Of Life
is very different to my other songs. It was about humans, whereas the other
songs are all about animals and nature. And it was improvised initially, whereas
normally my songs are composed and planned. This one was free. I scratched the
vibraphone bar as if I was writing something. An image connected in my mind:
these two people meeting and sharing their lives. This image was the book of
life.”
The upbeat lead single It’s Magical features two cellos and a flute as
extensions of the vibraphone; “like a man who’s put artificial wings on his
arms to attempt to fly like a bird, before an airplane was invented,” says
Masayoshi. A different version of the song, called Spaceship Magical, also
appears on the Erased Tapes 10th anniversary box set 1+1=X. “Like most of my
songs, It’s Magical started from one simple phrase that I’d played again
and again. But at one point I had two very different versions; one acoustic
with orchestral arrangement, whilst the other had distorted guitars with
electronic bass that perfectly suited the collaborative nature of the label
residency when Robert invited me to participate.”
His new album arrives at a time of renewed interest for percussive, ambient
music following the reissue of minimalist composer Midori Takada’s seminal
album Through The Looking Glass last year and compounded by the comeback of
Ryuichi Sakamoto, whose cinematic compositions parallel
Masayoshi’s storytelling soundscapes. BBC Radio 3 confirmed this
renaissance of Japanese music and culture, dedicating their recent Night
Blossoms season to new experimental artists, including fellow Erased Tapes vocal
performer Hatis Noit. Masayoshi previously released two albums under his alias
El Fog that touched on
the vibraphone but appeared mostly in a supporting role, accompanying his
intricate electronic production. Much like his instrument, he has often been a
collaborator as opposed to a front man — his sympathetic musicianship
complimenting a variety of creative outputs. Most frequently with the
adventurous German producer Jan Jelinek. Their most recent offering Schaum
displays a dialogue between the two that makes it hard to tell just where
Fujita’s vibraphone ends and Jelinek’s whirring loops begin. Another
fruitful partnership was the experimental Needle Six piece, a BBC Radio
3 recording of an improvised session with UK electronic artist Guy Andrews for
Late Junction. The mesmeric and compelling 30-minute piece was released for
Record Store Day in 2016. In addition his label peer and fellow Berlin resident
Nils Frahm mastered Stories, providing a fitting symmetry to its re-issue on
Erased Tapes now. Book of Life will be released by Erased Tapes on July 27th,
2018 with Stories reissued on the same day.