Breathing

Breathing is the first full-length album by singer-songwriter Joe Takizawa. Centered on "Breathing -Kokyu-," a song he wrote as a letter to himself in a painful and difficult time, the album explores the theme "to live is to breathe," weaving the day-to-day sway of emotion into 13 tracks-from truths left unsaid and feelings that never reach their destination, to bittersweet love and a quiet defiance against the unfairness of everyday life. It also includes the singles "Danboru (Cardboard Box)" and his debut song "Suki Nara Suki To," re-recorded for the album.
In terms of production, the album's core is the warmth of live, simultaneous vocal-and-guitar recordings captured in a tiny four-and-a-half tatami studio. On some songs, instruments like drums, bass, and electric piano sit in close, understated support; on others, Takizawa steps forward as a guitarist, letting the instrument take the lead. There's "Freedom," where 12-string strumming and a driving beat make you want to raise your fist; the mid-tempo ballad "Kyo mo Dokoka de," evoking a city morning; the full-blooded blues-rock of "Jinsei wa Blues"; and the cosmic shimmer of "Night Bus," born from a starry sky he saw during a late-night highway bus break. The record's musicality and storytelling broaden further through songs like "Umarekawatte mo Mata Watashi ga Ii," based on a real letter written by maimai (Fude Mojiya Asanoha), the brush-calligraphy artist who also created the jacket lettering for Breathing.
Yet at its center is the line, "You're not a failure at all"-words to help you make it through today-and the raw realism of breathing itself. Please listen with a sense for that human warmth-something no AI or machine could ever reproduce.