ju sei is the song duo of sei (vocals) and Junichiro Tanaka (guitar). Together with Utah Kawasaki, ju sei released the 2-CD set "U as in Utah" (meenna-997) on Ftarri in 2014. "Live at Ftarri Festival 2015," ju sei's second CD release on Ftarri, documents the entirety of their performance at the Ftarri Festival held in Tokyo on November 21 and 22, 2015. The sort of musical creation and structure that highlight the two musicians' exquisite, original musical sensibility are alive and well here, too. Utah Kawasaki (electronics), Masahiko Okura (contrabass clarinet), and Berlin-based clarinetist Michael Thieke also participate, adding even more color and richness.
The performance (31 minutes, 46 seconds) is relatively quiet throughout. The calm and melodious short piece "Utsuke" is played at the beginning and end of the set, and in between is the long work "Ne." Although the pieces are composed, they have a wittily improvisational quality that is rich and bold. The vocal and instrumental timbres, including moments of silence and extremely high volume, crisscross the length and breadth of the compositional and improvisational space.
ju sei は、sei (ヴォーカル) と田中淳一郎 (ギター) の歌ものデュオ。ju sei は2014年に、ユタカワサキを加えたCD2枚組『ゆはゆたのゆ』(meenna-997) を Ftarri からリリースしていて、『Live at Ftarri Festival 2015』は Ftarri からの２作目となる。本CDには、2015年11月21日と22日に東京で開催された Ftarri Festival での演奏を丸ごと収録 。ふたりの絶妙かつ特異な音楽的センスが光る曲作りと演奏構成は、ここでも健在！ さらに、ユタカワサキ (エレクトロニクス)、大蔵雅彦 (コントラバス・クラリネット)、ベルリンのクラリネット奏者 Michael Thieke の三人が参加し、演奏に彩りを添えている。
ju sei
Junichiro Tanaka: guitar, effects pedals
sei: vocals
Utah Kawasaki: electronics
Masahiko Okura: contrabass clarinet
Michael Thieke: clarinet
All words and music by ju sei
Recorded live at Ftarri Festival 2015, SuperDeluxe, Tokyo, November 21, 2015
Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Chihei Hatakeyama
Artwork and design by Cathy Fishman
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