photo courtesy of Kiyoe Ozawa
The lovely dream stirring, time bending jazzy romance waves of "ende" by Japanese composer and producer Yuma Koda (a duet featuring Brooklyn-based guitarist and songwriter Mei Semones and Tokyo-based vocalist and guitarist Yuma Abe), opens illusory doors with secret keys. It is a heady experience, almost feeling like a free form amble down rain slicked streets, perfectly drawn and if I had to offer one hard criticism is that it is much too short at an emotionally brisk 3:21 thought is ambles off in the distance starting at around 2:45. It is, for me, a selfish criticism as I wanted to languish within ende's wanting embrace much, much longer. The feeling here is an almost transient one, yet extremely emotionally deep at the same time and mysterious like when you are parting ways with someone you are compelled to be with but in that almost intangible place of not knowing if the other feels the same way, or not. Lovely stuff that feels destined to be in a movie.
Awash in wandering bass and brushes, daydreaming hums, memoric sax frills, wells of sad horns and tentative piano keys as a constantly swelling, floating framework for a girl boy duet, "ende" is, the perfect closure to Yuma Koda (and collaborators) debut full length "Amid Kinos" that dropped this early October via Newhere Music, the Tokyo-based label that has released works by Jim O’Rourke, Takuro Okada, and Eiko Ishibashi.
LINER NOTES (excerpted / bracketed):
[“ende” is a duet featuring Brooklyn-based guitarist and songwriter Mei Semones and Tokyo-based vocalist and guitarist Yuma Abe. Distinct from the rest of Amid Kinos, the track brings the album to a sentimental close, part lullaby and part whispered folklore, feeling at once dreamlike and grounded. Koda composed the piece, with lyrics written in collaboration with Semones, and describes his intention as writing “something that felt like a fragment of a distant memory, something I might have heard half-asleep during the closing credits of a film,” in part as an homage to the endings of several films he remembers from childhood. Alongside Koda on piano, a trio of string performers—Hiraku Yamamoto, Ayaka Yanagihara, and Tomohiro Yamauchi—perform alongside key album contributors saxophonist Kei Matsumaru, drummer Shinya Fukumori, and bassist Marty Holoubek.]
-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.
[Background & Influences]
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).
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).
Yuma Koda, pianist / composer / producer, indie electronica, experimental, jazz blends, film scores, artist /musician /feat. Mei Semones and Yuma Abe, "ende", trancy, nostalgic, romantic, debut full length "Amid Kinos",
No comments:
Post a Comment