Missing

Moto Kawabe of Mitsume will release his debut solo album, ""Missing"", on July 1.

While continuing his work with Mitsume, Kawabe has been releasing home-recorded demo works intermittently over the years. For this album, he undertook band-format recording for the first time. Drawing inspiration from his experiences working as both a producer and musician on other artists' projects, Kawabe explores new approaches to music-making.

After years of studio recording experience, ""Missing"" marks the first step in an ongoing recording experiment that seeks to bring the creative process back into his own hands. Existing somewhere between studio production and self-recording, the album captures this process in a semi-documentary manner. Featuring nine tracks, including the previously released singles ""Alien Love"" and ""Convex Mirror"", the album brings together a solo project that has gradually taken shape over a long period of time.

Memories of others, cityscapes, and the stillness of late nights. The songs on ""Missing"" quietly portray emotions that shift over time and those fleeting moments that make us pause amid the routines of everyday life.

Closing the album is ""Mature Fruit"", a song that stands as one of the defining moments of the record. Using fruit as a metaphor for relationships and the passage of time, the track gently brings the album to a close. Fragile and ambiguous, yet continuing to roll forward, this sensibility runs throughout the entire work.

Beginning with the swaying delay guitar riffs and sensual vocals of ""Alien Love"", moving through the cityscapes of ""Convex Mirror"", the nocturnal drift of ""Night Escape"", and the layered vocal harmonies of ""Why"", the album gradually transforms in mood and atmosphere. As it unfolds, it explores emotional distance, ambiguous feelings, the exhilaration and loneliness of the night, eventually arriving at ""Late Night Show"", a song that drifts between dreams and reality, before continuing into ""Mature Fruit"".

Sonically, the album is built around Kawabe's voice, with subtle arrangements woven into minimal instrumentation to create a distinct sense of depth and space. His delicate falsetto, layered vocal harmonies, and use of negative space are among the defining elements of the work.

From songwriting and arrangement to the overall direction of the album, every aspect of the project was handled by Kawabe himself. The freedom of his solo practice is evident throughout the record, revealing a personal sensibility and aesthetic distinct from his work with Mitsume.

The album features performances by Satoru Isobe of Tocago and Yusuke Okada of BROTHER SUN SISTER MOON. Mixing was handled by Toshihiko Kasai, with mastering by Kentaro Kimura. Together, they preserve and enhance the delicate textures and lingering atmosphere of Kawabe's musical world.