Japanese composer Masahiro Takahashi moved to Toronto in 2020, and after previously signing to local label Telephone Explosion Records for a reissue of his tape Flowering Tree, Distant Moon last year, he has now announced a new album. Humid Sun arrives on March 31 through Telephone Explosion.
The 10-track album features a host of collaborators: a few Tokyo-based composers (Takao, YAMAAN, H. Takahashi), plus Toronto-based artists like Ryan Driver, Brodie West, Michael Davidson and Joseph Shabason. It was mixed by Sandro Perri.
"I communicated with the musicians and tried different directions in improvisation," Takahashi said of his process in a statement. "We recorded three takes for each instrument. I took the recordings back to my home studio, listened to them repeatedly, edited them in my DAW, applied effects, and arranged them."
Hear the single "Cloud Boat" below, and see the Humid Sun tracklist below that.
Humid Sun:
1. Silky Lake
2. Cloud Boat
3. East Chinatown Stroller
4. Sea Fireflies
5. Okinawa Sunset
6. Sweltering Drive
7. Fantasy in Soy Sauce
8. Minamo
9. Trees Sleep at Night
10. Back to the West
The 10-track album features a host of collaborators: a few Tokyo-based composers (Takao, YAMAAN, H. Takahashi), plus Toronto-based artists like Ryan Driver, Brodie West, Michael Davidson and Joseph Shabason. It was mixed by Sandro Perri.
"I communicated with the musicians and tried different directions in improvisation," Takahashi said of his process in a statement. "We recorded three takes for each instrument. I took the recordings back to my home studio, listened to them repeatedly, edited them in my DAW, applied effects, and arranged them."
Hear the single "Cloud Boat" below, and see the Humid Sun tracklist below that.
Humid Sun:
1. Silky Lake
2. Cloud Boat
3. East Chinatown Stroller
4. Sea Fireflies
5. Okinawa Sunset
6. Sweltering Drive
7. Fantasy in Soy Sauce
8. Minamo
9. Trees Sleep at Night
10. Back to the West