UNAHQ 2025 2Y"s album info

PDF UNAHQ 2025 2Y’S ALBUM INFO

 

 

Yuko: Composer and pianist inspired by the nature creates sounds

Yoko: Vocalist projecting the culture and traditions of her Ainu roots—a people who coexist with nature—into the modern era

The album 2Y's was woven together through the resonance of Yuko and Yoko sharing a common vision of symbiosis with nature.

 

Yuko:自然の生み出す音に触発された作曲家・ピアニスト

Yoko:自らのルーツであるアイヌ民族の自然と共生する文化・伝統を現代に投影するボーカリスト

自然との共生という共通の思いを持つ２人が共鳴しあって紡ぎ出されたのが本アルバム2Y’sである。

 

 

MUSIC LIST

M-01 Kasorap------4’48

M-02 Lotus --------4’51　

M-03 Bunun song---4’38

M-04 Acikara---------4’33

M-05 Sinrici hawehe---3’30

M-06 Ikomososo----3’59

M-07 Wind ripple---2’14

M-08 Pehe utar rimse---5’04

M-09 Tsutau----5’05

M-10 Korpokkur----2’32

 

1 Kesorap  4’48　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

Lyrics Yoko Toyokawa

Ainu Translation Masashi Kawakami

Composition Yuko Yabe

 

Kesorap is an imaginary spirit bird of the Ainu. It resembles a peacock. The poem draws inspiration from Yukie Chiri's sacred song “The God of Kesorap.” In the iomante (spirit-sending) ritual, it departs, embracing an inaw (wooden sacred banner), to journey to the land of the kamuy (gods) where its mother awaits.

 

2 Lotus 4’51　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

Lyrics: Yoko Toyokawa

Ainu Translation: Masashi Kawakami

Composition: Yuko Yabe

 

Lyrics questioning the meaning of life and one's own existence.

Suffering from society's notions of correctness, lamenting one's own weakness, yet singing “Who am I?” while still living strongly in the present.

 

3 Bunun — Sacred Ascent　4’38

Composition: Bunun Tribe, Yuko Yabe

 

We offer our deepest respect and gratitude to the Bunun Tribe Cultural Foundation of Taiwan, who provided the eight-part choir.

We offer our deepest respect and gratitude to everyone at the Bunun Tribal Leisure Farm.

This music was born from the experience of encountering their prayers and resonant sounds.

 

4 Acikara  4’33　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

Lyrics Yoko Toyokawa

Ainu Translation Masashi Kawakami

Composition Yuko Yabe

This song depicts searching for a lost treasure within a Cise (traditional Ainu dwelling).The final lyrics are: “Something precious. My treasure. What is it? Sitopera (a wooden paddle for stirring dumplings).”

 

5 Sinrici hawehe〜Voices of Our Ancestors〜　3’30　　　　　　　　　

Lyrics Yoko Toyokawa

Ainu Translation Masashi Kawakami

Composition Yoko Toyokawa

 

Long ago, when the Ainu gathered, they would begin singing by tapping the lid of the sintoko (cooking pot) beside the hearth to keep the beat. This would start the ukouk (round singing), and as the mood grew more and more lively, they would begin to dance. These lyrics were created imagining such scenes of our ancestors.

 

6 Ikomososo 3’59　　　　

Composition Yuko Yabe

 

7 Wind Ripple   2'14

Lyrics: Rintaro Uchida

Composition: Yuko Yabe

 

This piece was composed inspired by the poem “Wind Ripple” found in the latest picture book “Friends” by picture poet Rintaro Uchida.

 

8 Pehe utar rimse 5’04　　　　　　　　　

 

Composition Yoko Toyokawa Satoshi Kawamoto Yuko Yabe

 

 Rimse means dance.

The sound of the droplets seemed to be joyfully feasting within the cave. I add my voice as if to be quietly included in that feast.

 

9 Tsutau　5’05　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

 

Lyrics Kiyu

Composition Yuko Yabe

 

10 Korpokkur Under the Butterbur Leaves 2’32　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

Lyrics: Yoko Toyokawa

Ainu Translation: Masashi Kawakami

Composition: Yuko Yabe

 

The lyrics tell of an old man korpokkur (a being dwelling under butterbur leaves) who, unable to leave his shelter because the rain won't stop, grumbles about it, and eventually just says, “Guess I'll sleep.”

Total time:41m06sec

///

UNAHQ 2022 Dvorak Strings Quintet No 2 in G major Op 77

 UNAHQ 2022 INFO

UNAHQ 2022 Dvorak Strings Quintet No 2 in G major Op 77

 

M-01 Allegro con fuoco 11’59”

M-02 Scherzo Allegro vivace 8’32”

M-03 Poco andante 7’30”

M-04 Finale Allegro assai 7’17’

M-05 Appendix- II Intermezzo 6’22”

 

TOTAL 41’40”

Rec. Date 14^th-16^th  December – 2021

At Yatsugatake Yambio-Hall Hokuto City Yamanashi Pre JAPAN

 

UNAMAS Strings Quintet

Vn1 Jun Tajiri

Vn2 Shiori Takeda

Va Atsuko Aoki

Vc Mariko Fukuzaki

Cb Ippei Kitamura

 

The UNAMAS label has been producing mainly at Karuizawa Ohga Hall since 2014. I've almost worked out the various recording approaches in this hall, so from this time I've been considering some halls to record in a new acoustic space. As a result, the entire interior was settled in Yatsugatake YAMABIKO HALL, which has a wooden structure.

It is ordinary to make album by Dvorak Strings Quintet No 2 in G major Op 77has recording 4 movement till Finale Allegro assai.

We take a recordings to record his complete score that included Appendix- II Intermezzo.

Booklet (PDF) >>>

Nature Whisper Master [Rain-Wave-Forest and Water]

 UNAHQ 4027 -4030 ALBUM INFO

To date, UNAMAS have released 26 albums in the Nature Whisper series.

For the Master Series, we selected the best sounds from each of these albums, organized around four major themes of nature sounds such as Rain-Wave-Forest-Water, and edited them into 5-minute clips, compiling them into 10 titles each with DSD11.1.

 

Please enjoy this compilation as the culmination of the 26 albums.

UNAHQ 2024 UNAMAS MASTER SELECTION

 UNAHQ 2024 ALBUM INFO

It a compilation album that latest unamas classical album best takes.

from UNAHQ 2015-2023.

UNAHQ 4011 Nature Whisper [Evening Cicada]

 UNAHQ 4011 ALBUM INFO

UNAHQ 4011 Nature Whisper [Evening Cicada]

 

We live as a part of nature, and we have regularity in everything from heartbeat, blood pressure, and breathing, but ourselves engrave irregular 1 / f fluctuations that are different each time. Therefore, it is very natural that listening to these external natural sounds resonates with their own fluctuations and adjusts the autonomic nerves, resulting in a stable and relaxed state of mind.

 

Vol-05 albums sound sources are recorded by Mr. Sawaguchi own high-resolution recording of pure natural sounds with surround, Evening Cicada is characterized by its soft voice, which is different from other cicadas that make sound very harsh, and it feels sorrowful at dusk without feeling the heat. The Okutama area, which is said to be the outback area of ​​Tokyo, is a group of cedar forests, and there are mountain streams and highlands, so I head for recordings every summer and autumn. Especially in cedar forest because the space is unique and the natural reverberation of the tree resonates in the forest, the sound source that makes a 360-degree collective sound like Higurashi is the best material for surround recording.

Evening cicada heard in surround is really suitable for healing sound, so I release it in this album.

I chose from 4 recording locations.

 

Even so, it seems that many people living in the city are exposed to various stresses and become mentally uneasy. In such a situation, I hope that the pure sound of nature recorded by Mr. Sawaguchi will help people with similar concerns to heal, and I have put together it as one album.

 

If you listen to each sound, there is the purity that nothing out of it or to it.

Booklet (PDF) >>>

 

UNAHQ 4019 Nature Whisper [The Shining Mist]

 UNAHQ 4019 ALBUM INFO

UNAHQ 4019 Nature Whisper The Shining Mist

 

Shining Mist-01 15minutes

Shining Mist-02 15minutes

Shining Mist-03 15minutes

Shining Mist-04 15minutes

  

Unezawa Canyon and Water Fall Echoing

 

The canyon is formed by a band of hard sedimentary rock strata called chert, and in places where there are differences in hardness, the erosion of wind, rain, and running water has created many steps, which in turn have created many waterfalls.

Standing there, the sound of the waterfalls reverberating in the deep canyons pours down from all directions, creating an exhilarating feeling like being bathed in a mist.

This album was completed with field recordings of the waterfalls in January 2023 when they were frozen over, and in June when they were echoing in the fresh green breeze Mick Sawaguchi.

 

Booklet (PDF) >>>

UNAHQ 4018 Nature Whisper [Northern Waves]

 UNAHQ 4018 ALBUM INFO

Recording notes

 

Mick Sawaguchi UNAMAS Label C.E.O

 

I have made field recordings of the sound of waves in various places in Japan and overseas, but what has fascinated me each time is the unique rhythm that makes me feel the breath of the earth. The sounds that sway with the 1/f rhythm are all different and make you feel like you're in the cradle of the earth.

The waves of Byobugaura, which is located at the northern end of Kujukuri Beach, can be heard with very long strokes generated from the topography of the long, shallow water coast.

While searching for sandy beaches with changing terrain,

Dawn - daytime - night calm and record the changing wave sounds by separating the time zones.

In addition, as a material for 11CH Immersive production, the material for Height Channel was recorded from the top of a cliff away from the coast and used in the Final Mix.

 

Booklet (PDF) >>>

UNAHQ 1024 Under The Spell Of The Blues

 UNAHQ 1024 ALBUM INFO

UNAHQ 1024  Under The Spell Of The Blues Album INFO

As the title suggests, the second leader album "Under The Spell Of The Blues" released by jazz drummer Kota Sawaguchi is an ambitious work in which a famous jazz musician boldly tried to approach "blues". What is the underlying blues sensation of jazz presented by Kota Sawaguchi in a piano trio with Norihiko Kawakubo (key) and Yohei Tanaka (CB)?

The feeling of blues is very important for jazz, and I think it will be completely different depending on whether it is present or not. However, I don't usually have many opportunities to delve into it, and I rarely meet jazz musicians who profess to like blues. I wonder what happens if we, who usually play jazz, play old blues songs. Of course, the so-called blues people are good, but of course they are only blues. Then, what would a jazz that loves blues do? --- I was also interested.

Regarding song selection, it would be interesting to expand the range from the true blues to a lineup of blues rock and rhythm & blues. I wanted to create something that would be an antithesis for both the jazz world and the blues and R & B scenes.

"People who come out in the 4000s and 4200s of Blue Note Label are, to be clear, blues. Many people feel that there is blues at the root. I remember that fact even for jazz fans of this era. There is a feeling that I want you to do it. It's good to be gorgeous and flashy, or to be urban and refreshing, but it's like struggling and climbing a muddy swamp and going step by step. The feeling was certainly in old jazz. However, if the we focus only on that, it will be an ENKA, so this time I have included songs that I chose to avoid it. I thought about the song selection while imagining the whole picture of the album. "(Interview by Kota Sawaguchi)

 

Booklet (PDF) >>>

UNAHQ 1025 A story of Wind and Clouds

 UNAHQ 1025 ALBUM INFO

UNAHQ 1025 A story of Wind and Clouds

 

M-NAME	LAP	MEMO
01 A story of Wind &Clouds	9’19”
02 Black Dragon	5’32”
03 Late Autumn Wind	5’21”
04 What’s in Your Mind Next to	5’19’
05 Let’s Gomi Jam	2’33”	with chorus
06 There is nothing but everything	7’43”
07 KODAMA	5’17”
08 E.O	6’03”
09 My Blues	5’48”
10 UMI NO UTA	3’05”	With chorus

 

 

 

Tomonao Hara Group:

 

Tomonao Hara (Trumpet)

Hisatsugu Suzuki (Tenor & Soprano Saxophone)

Jun Miyakawa (Piano & Fender Rhodes Mark I)

Takuma Asada (Guitar)

Hiroshi Ikejiri(Double Bass & Electric Bass)

Deniss Frehse (Drums)

 

The album concept  Tomonao Hara

 

"A Story of Wind and Clouds" is "a collection of music whose title has a deep meaning". The thought contained in the lyrics of the 10th music "Umi No Uta" is  a symbol of the image that all music on the album has.

"Umi No Uta" Lyrics by Tomonao Hara

The sea is a message from ancient times

 

 I have taken in and deepened the thoughts and feelings of intellectuals and sages that I have come into contact with through the books I have read, the movies I have seen, and the Internet.

 

This time, I composed an several titles based on them, and I expanded the image of the title with my musical imagination and connected it to the composition. This music will further expand the world through jazz improvisation, and will eventually descend into the sensibilities of the listeners...with that in mind, 

This is the group's third album. In the recording, the individuality of each musician became more prominent in the performance, and the "stories" told by each storyteller (musicians) collaborated and eventually created a big flow, building a magnificent world.

 

Booklet (PDF) >>>

UNAHQ 1027 DUET

 UNAHQ 1027 ALBUM INFO

UNAHQ 1027 DUET album INFO

 

UNAMAS LABEL: Mick Sawaguchi

 

M-01　Prologue 10’22”         

M-02　GOODBYE 12’24”

M-03 ALL the THINGS YOU ARE 8’35”

M-04 JUST FRIENDS 15’12”

M-05 Epilogue 15’20”

Yuki Arimasa Apf

Hisatugu Suzuki Tsax  

Total time:60’02

 

Originally released as an XR-CD in 2009 with unamas label, this is the first document of a session that captured the gentle and sometimes intense dialogue between the two personalities from August 2008 to August 2009 live.

This album is a tribute to Hisatugu Suzuki who unfortunately passed away in December 2024 that was remastered at 96kHZ-24bit as RE-MIX.

 

The M-01 prologue and M-05 epilogue are free improvisations that they perform in both are truly once-in-a-lifetime performances. The other three songs are standers, but we hope you will take the time to enjoy how the two of them interpreted them. The memorable first performance was held here at Jazz Club-UNAMAS on August 12 TOKYO. 

A pianist Arimasa Yuki who has released CD-VOL01/VOL02 and other 3 solo piano albums in the studio and at Ohga Hall on the UNAMAS label. His beautiful piano touch and layered chord work at any volume, as well as his swinging rhythmic sense in odd time signatures, seem to strike a pulse when my recording. 

 

Tenor player Hisatugu Suzuki, who has often performed here at Jazz club UNAMAS as a member of the Tomonao Hara or Dairiki Hara. as if he were reciting a poem on his saxophone. 

Booklet (PDF) >>>

 

 

UNAHQ 4023 Nature Whisper [The Wind of Earth]

 UNAHQ 4023 ALBUM INFO

UNAHQ 4023 Nature Whisper [The Wind of Earth]

 

Wind of Earth-01 15minutes

Wind of Earth-02 15minutes

Wind of Earth-03 15minutes

Wind of Earth-04 15minutes

 

                           

Whenever I record in the field, I always wonder why the sound of waves and wind is so pleasant, and every time I make an album with such material and play it back, I think about it. it is because no identical sounds or rhythms are the same, and I also think it is because they look different depending on where they are recorded. This is the moment when I feel that we, as living beings, are being kept alive.

 

Just as waves are created when the earth's water breathes, wind is created when the earth's air breathes. Both are constantly changing and represent the earth's rhythm as natural phenomena.

Both waves and wind are pleasant to us living beings because they make us feel that the planet Earth is breathing. Wind changes infinitely depending on the land, climate, and environment, and its expressive power is truly diverse. At times it is harsh, and at other times it is gentle, marking the rhythm of the present earth.

 

In this work, the album is made up of winds blowing in the north, from the Great Plains and redwood forests of northeastern Canada, to the winds flowing through palm trees on the southern islands, and the cedar forests of Kumano Mt.Tamaki.

Booklet (PDF) >>>

UNAHQ 4016 Nature Whisper [River Run]

 UNAHQ 4016 ALBUM INFO

UNAHQ 4016 Nature Whisper [River Run]

 

This album was produced as the 16th work of the nature series by Mick Sawaguchi. This time, the four unique flows along the Koma-River in the field.

It sounds feel relaxes as BGM at Remote work under the pandemic of corona.

 

1 M-01 Slightly fast flow         15mint

2 M-02 Gentle flow              15mint

3 M-03  Torrent                15mint

4 M-04 Wide stream             15mint

Total 60mint

 

Every year from May to June, nature begins to move active, making it the perfect season for field recording. This time, under the theme of River Run, I made a field recording around the Koma-River, which originates in the Chichibu Mountains, joins the Arakawa River, and flows into Tokyo Bay. The area around the Koma-River where the recording was made has a rare terrain that is shaped like a purse and has a large meandering curve, and is locally called Kawarada.

Booklet (PDF) >>>

UNAHQ 4017 Nature Whisper [Green Chorus]

 UNAHQ 4017 ALBUM INFO

UNAHQ 4017 Green Chorus

 

Green Chorus

 

Grennchorus-01 15mints

Grennchorus-02 15mints

Grennchorus-03 15mints

Grennchorus-04 15mints

 

Japanese Tree Flog - Hyla japonica

 

It is a series of Nature Whisper albums. It was field recording among June-July at Night. Enjoy a beautiful Chorus of Japanese Tree Flogs in rice field.

 

In spring, from May to June, they gather at the waterside and lay eggs on rice field in the water. During spawning season, males inflate vocal sacs at the back of their throats near the water's edge and cry loudly to attract females. Only males sing,

 

In June 2010, I went to Kurohime Kogen in Shina no-machi, Nagano Prefecture, to field recording with Higurashi-Evening Cicada. I was staying at a mountain hut, and in the evening, I heard a wonderful chorus of frogs coming from the nearby paddy fields. I came. Since the recording was done at night, there weren't any good candidate sites for paddy fields due to transportation problems in remote areas.

 

This work is the result of discovering beautiful paddy fields in Hamura City, which is located upstream of the Tama River, and going out at night from June to July 2022 to take a field recording.

 

Booklet (PDF) >>>