photo courtesy of Kiyoe Ozawa
The hybrid bending keyboard dreams of "Images on Loan" by Japanese composer and producer Yuma Koda (featuring artist, musician, and songwriter Jan Urila Sas and jazz drummer / multi-instrumentalist Shun Ishiwaka), feel vast and free flowing. Like a river with multiple tributaries the musical narratives see to extend and shift at will and improvisational (or not) the dream theater of it all can feel both beautiful and eerie, both expanding and imploding. The ambient cut percussions, the descent from jazz parallels to darkly drawn abstractions make for a mysterious even kind of David Lynch-ian unease, at times the sonic spread pulls inward and suddenly the song feels quite claustrophobic even. Very evocative, filmic and "Images on Loan" is the kind of song that sounds different, cast different imagery every subsequent time you listen to it. I should know I have listened to it a dozen times already.
LINER NOTES (excerpted / bracketed):
[Growing up, Koda spent much of his childhood in an independent movie theater run by his father, immersing himself in a wide range of films from an early age. While studying classical music theory in Italy and Japan, he also developed a deep interest in jazz and electronic music, and was strongly influenced by the philosophy and attitude of Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu.
Between 2017 and 2019, Koda divided his time between New York and Japan. During this period, he shared formative experiences in New York with artists across disciplines, including filmmaker Neo Sora, painter Yukimasa Ida, and Tenchi Yoshimoto, designer of the fashion label amachi.
In recent years, Koda has increasingly embraced installation as a medium. Notable works include In Our Time (Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, 2025), a multichannel sound installation exploring contemporary notions of home and memory; Garden of Temporary Traces (Studio 525, New York, 2025), a collaboration with Audio-Technica that layered sound and light through the philosophy of the tea ceremony; and a video work with UNIQLO and the Hamburg Ballet’s youth company (2023).]
"Images on Loan" will grace Yuma Koda's upcoming debut album via Tokyo's independent label Newhere (name and release date unknown at this time).
-Robb Donker Curtius
The Chicken Wheel will take you to the AP Go Fund Me- and any amount is so appreciated!
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://www.instagram.com/yuma_kooda/
https://music.apple.com/us/album/images-on-loan-feat-jan-urila-sas-shun-ishiwaka-single
Yuma Koda Bio
Born in 1991, Yuma Koda is a Japanese composer and producer. In addition to working as a music director for film and fashion shows, he has composed extensively for performing arts and installations. Since 2017, he has composed music for the fashion brand HYKE under the unit name UYK, alongside Hideaki Yoshihara and Masatoshi Uemura. He released the album #1 via bonjour records in 2018. In 2019, he received the Best Original Music Award at the 23rd Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival for KONTORA, directed by Anshul Chauhan. In 2024, he was nominated for Best Original Music at the British Independent Film Awards for The Ceremony, directed by Jack King.
Yuma Koda, pianist / composer / producer, indie electronica, experimental, jazz blends, film scores, artist /musician /songwriter Jan Urila Sas, jazz drummer / multi-instrumentalist Shun Ishiwaka, "Images on Loan",
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