It started with a concert at Ftarri, Tokyo, on December 30, 2018. That night, Osaka-based artists mizutama, Tadashi Yonago and Kayu Nakada performed with Tokyo-based musicians in a concert organized by Yuma Takeshita, who plays a remodeled bass guitar he calls an electro-bass. The concert was so great that the owner of Ftarri immediately decided to hold a repeat performance by the same musicians the following summer. That concert took place at Ftarri on August 11, 2019, and consisted of three sets: a duo performance by mizutama (snap circuits) and Toshimaru Nakamura (no-input mixing board); another duo by Tadashi Yonago (flashlight, sprinkler) and Daysuke Takaoka (tuba); and a trio by Kayu Nakada (bug synthesizer), Junji Hirose (SSI-4) and Yuma Takeshita (electro-bass). The CD "See You at Ftarri," a complete recording of the three sets, was released on the Meenna label in February 2020.
Actually, the Osaka contingent appeared at Ftarri again the following night (August 12, 2019). That concert, performed by just these three and the organizer, Yuma Takeshita, was comprised of two sets by the Osaka musicians, and one by those three plus Takeshita. mizutama, Yonago and Nakada, artists with active performance and exhibition careers, have carved out solid positions in the world of experimental/improvised music and sound art. Their performances at Ftarri truly demonstrated their abilities to the fullest. This album is comprised of two tracks: one trio performance (25 minutes) and the quartet (32 minutes) from the August 12 concert. Myriad sounds, produced by each of the four musicians (including Takeshita) with their unique instruments and performance equipment, resonate in a relaxed way or combine to form large clusters. The sound-space expands and contracts freely. This outstanding album is an opportunity to fully savor the real pleasures of improvisation.
Recorded after overcoming serious physical issues, joy and und radiate from every note of trumpeter Steph Richard's incredible new LP. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 23, 2024
