northeast

Artist Daichi Wago, who also serves as the organizer of "Makai Irigatashi"-an experimental arts and music gathering held at Club Asia-has released his first full-length album, "Hokutō."
The album was produced by junchai, syu yoshida, and Itsuki Kun-members of the Yokosuka-based three-piece rock band Fallsheeps-with mastering handled by KUROMAKU. The artwork was created by painter Naohiro Yoshida, who also serves as an organizer of "Makai Nan'nyu."
This work was created under the significant influence of the book *A Study of Demons* (Chikuma Shobo) by the poet Akiko Baba. Daichi Wago, who performs energetically at live shows across Japan, channels the "sensation of wandering at high speed" and the "feeling of not belonging to any particular genre or scene" into 12 tracks-each representing one of 12 demons. He challenged himself to explore an alternative form of expression, yet to be seen, by skillfully alternating between rap, singing, and acting to deliver modern, poetic lyrics rooted in surrealism. The beats span a wide variety of genres, including post-rock, boom bap, hard techno, trip-hop, ambient, baile funk, and folk music. Much like a "feature-length film for the ears," the work unfolds in complex ways as the story progresses.
The title was chosen in reference to the direction from which demons come and go. This is "unruly music" that defies definition within existing contexts or genre classifications. From the northeast, where heavy clouds loom, melodies and the wails of demons can be heard.