Cinnamon

"Rain and Nostalgia" is a piano solo album with the concept of capturing the essence of rain and nostalgia. To create this album, I tuned the piano to produce a quiet and gentle sound. As I play on this piano, it brings back memories of my childhood when I first experienced the scent of cinnamon on a rainy day at a place I used to visit. It was a warm and special moment. Nostalgia, for me, isn't just about the past; it's also about finding a sense of longing in the present, as if the slightly distant future is already nostalgic. It's like having a personal sanctuary, my own hometown.

The title of the album, "DD Series," refers to a series of sketches I create on the spot using musical instruments when I encounter such nostalgic experiences. The inspiration for this album came one winter in 2022 when I suddenly craved the sound of rain. Living in the Tohoku region, where snow is common during winter, it's rare to encounter rain, but on sleepless nights, I would search for and listen to rain sounds online. And when I couldn't find solace, I would relax with the scent of cinnamon. That's when I felt the desire to create music that resonates with those moments.

While I initially considered selecting tracks from my existing DD Series works for this album, I found that using the original recordings as they were would deviate from the intended concept. That's when I realized that the unease I felt came from the piano's sound itself. I began working on crafting sounds that would express rain, nostalgia, and the scent of cinnamon. I spent several months adjusting instruments and recording environments, and as someone who is not particularly skilled, it took me about three months to achieve a piano sound that I was satisfied with.

Afterward, I spent another three months re-recording all the tracks to match the album's envisioned atmosphere. Taking into account the stories behind the original compositions and the concept of this album, I delved deeper into each song while arranging them from a different perspective. In the individual descriptions of each track, I only included the background behind their creation. Now, let me explain the overall structure after the arrangements: each song expresses the themes of rain, nostalgia, and the scent of cinnamon, and the order of the tracks represents the progression from the start of rain to its eventual cessation.

During the recording period, I played on sunny days as well, but ultimately, most of the chosen recordings were performed on rainy days, and even the day I completed the work happened to be rainy. I once read that in ancient Japan, rain was believed to come from the heavens, serving as a connection between the earthly and divine realms. Personally, through this album and the experience of rainy days, I feel connected to my own hometown. It would bring me great joy if I could share this comforting feeling through my music.