Ring

The grand, majestic universe of nagai oto.

Nagai oto [literally long tones] is a Japanese term that evokes portamento glides, legato passages, and ambient / environmental sounds — notes that sustain and connect and blend together in a never-ending aural kaleidoscope. To my mind, when a sound rings steady and constant, it’s like a light gradually intensifying in strength, and when the sound finally changes and modulates, in that instant, a precious, impassioned storyline unfolds.

For this collection, my goal was to corral these nagai oto into musical compositions with the help of a renowned cast of musicians who added their own distinct flavor to the sonic stew.

I feel blessed, and not a little proud, to have assembled a cast as unconventional as it is talented: Hajime Sakita, one of Japan’s foremost instrumentalists, played the musical saw; Ko Ishikawa performed on the sho bamboo pipe, an eerie, edgy instrument from the realm of Japanese gagaku court music; Kaori Tsutsui, a composer in her own right, showcased the clarinet; Lupintic Five member and guitar prodigy Satoshi Izumi lent his amazing fingers; and Masatoshi Katsumata came in from the world of film to act as supervising sound editor. My beloved Prophet-5 and its tricky polyphony rounded out the cast.

I hope you enjoy these nagai oto compositions as much as I enjoyed creating them with this cast.