SATOKO FUJII -Hazuki
Libra Records 201-063
Satoko Fujii (piano)
Recorded Kobe City, Japan August 2020
The corona virus pandemic has been challenging for so many people, including those working in the creative industries. I’ve been struck by the imagination and ingenuity of so many artists in keeping the creative flame burning during this difficult time. This album is example of how good art can emerge from adversity.
Japanese pianist and composer Satoko Fujii is a prolific artist – in one thirteen-year period, she released forty albums. And in 2018 – when she celebrated her 60th birthday – she released a new album in each month of the year. Even during this pandemic, Fujii plans to release three albums, including this one, Hazuki (an old Japanese word for August, the month it was recorded).
The conditions for recording this solo piano album were not easy. It was recorded at Fujii’s home in Kobe City during the height of summer, when the temperature was in the 30s Celsius. Her piano room had no air conditioning, and everything had to be closed up to eliminate stray sounds and avoid disturbing the neighbours. At times, she was literally sweating at the keyboard.
Not surprisingly, the pandemic heavily influenced the repertoire. The title of the opening number, ‘Invisible’ reflects the unseen danger of the Covid-19 virus. The intro consists of Fujii plucking the piano strings to create a sound similar to a koto, a Japanese stringed instrument. A screeching sound creates tension and menace, as does a dark chord followed by the sound of rattling keys. The sound is sparse, spacious and mysterious, and like a virus outbreak, it builds and builds.
‘Quarantine,’ features dark, dense chord patterns played with power and aggression, while ‘Cluster’ - inspired by the corona clusters that caused so much illness and mayhem – artfully conveys the disturbing impact of the virus through note clusters and ringing overtones. ‘Hoffen’ (German for ‘hope’) sounds light and airy and is delicately played by Fujii. ‘Ernesto’ is a tribute to Che Guevara (who was both a revolutionary and a physician) and the Cuban public health service – Ernesto was Guevara’s first name, and during the pandemic, Cuba sent medics to Italy to support the country’s collapsing health service. This track features more expressive playing, with notes crashing, colliding and tumbling.
For the song ‘Expanding,’ Fujii wanted to explore a new musical language, by deliberately limiting her choice of tones and intervals, to create a new form of musical expression. The eight-minute track has a staccato opening, and consists of rippling lines, and short, rapid phrases that create a feeling of tension and urgency. This is not music to relax to, but it is invigorating to listen to. The album ends on a calm note, with the ballad ‘Twenty Four Degrees’ (the title refers to how the temperature in Kobe fell by ten degrees in early autumn), which showcases Fujii’s creative use of space. They say that every cloud has a silver lining, and in this case, the pandemic has inspired Satoko Fujii to produce a work that is both evocative and expressive.
Reviewed by George Cole
Libra Records 201-063
Satoko Fujii (piano)
Recorded Kobe City, Japan August 2020
The corona virus pandemic has been challenging for so many people, including those working in the creative industries. I’ve been struck by the imagination and ingenuity of so many artists in keeping the creative flame burning during this difficult time. This album is example of how good art can emerge from adversity.
Japanese pianist and composer Satoko Fujii is a prolific artist – in one thirteen-year period, she released forty albums. And in 2018 – when she celebrated her 60th birthday – she released a new album in each month of the year. Even during this pandemic, Fujii plans to release three albums, including this one, Hazuki (an old Japanese word for August, the month it was recorded).
The conditions for recording this solo piano album were not easy. It was recorded at Fujii’s home in Kobe City during the height of summer, when the temperature was in the 30s Celsius. Her piano room had no air conditioning, and everything had to be closed up to eliminate stray sounds and avoid disturbing the neighbours. At times, she was literally sweating at the keyboard.
Not surprisingly, the pandemic heavily influenced the repertoire. The title of the opening number, ‘Invisible’ reflects the unseen danger of the Covid-19 virus. The intro consists of Fujii plucking the piano strings to create a sound similar to a koto, a Japanese stringed instrument. A screeching sound creates tension and menace, as does a dark chord followed by the sound of rattling keys. The sound is sparse, spacious and mysterious, and like a virus outbreak, it builds and builds.
‘Quarantine,’ features dark, dense chord patterns played with power and aggression, while ‘Cluster’ - inspired by the corona clusters that caused so much illness and mayhem – artfully conveys the disturbing impact of the virus through note clusters and ringing overtones. ‘Hoffen’ (German for ‘hope’) sounds light and airy and is delicately played by Fujii. ‘Ernesto’ is a tribute to Che Guevara (who was both a revolutionary and a physician) and the Cuban public health service – Ernesto was Guevara’s first name, and during the pandemic, Cuba sent medics to Italy to support the country’s collapsing health service. This track features more expressive playing, with notes crashing, colliding and tumbling.
For the song ‘Expanding,’ Fujii wanted to explore a new musical language, by deliberately limiting her choice of tones and intervals, to create a new form of musical expression. The eight-minute track has a staccato opening, and consists of rippling lines, and short, rapid phrases that create a feeling of tension and urgency. This is not music to relax to, but it is invigorating to listen to. The album ends on a calm note, with the ballad ‘Twenty Four Degrees’ (the title refers to how the temperature in Kobe fell by ten degrees in early autumn), which showcases Fujii’s creative use of space. They say that every cloud has a silver lining, and in this case, the pandemic has inspired Satoko Fujii to produce a work that is both evocative and expressive.
Reviewed by George Cole
