XCD-049 Maju – Maju-2
The melodious charm of Maju-2 also signifies a greater maturity to the sound of Maju. Sakana Hosomi continues to lead Maju into a musical realm that involves the listener on many levels.
Maju-2 displays the poetic form that made the debut album from this Japanese group so special. Voice, guitars, percussion and samplers meld into one, with contributions from many talented Tokyo musicians.
Analog synthesis creates an intriguing soundscape through which the melody identifies the abstract songs. This inherent structure allows evocative sounds to weave in and out. Spoken word is present as much for its content as its sonic richness.
The music of Maju-2 creates the cocoon-like sound that is already the signature for Maju. The critical and audience acclaim for Maju has been universally positive with the first album described as:
“A zen-garden of sounds” (ROLLING STONE)
“The best and most convincing ambient album in recent times” (TERZ)
“A wonderful ambient album of mystic dimensions” (ZILLO)
“Simply beautiful!” (KREISZEITUNG)
And as John Keats said, “A thing of beauty is a joy forever”.
Liner Notes
within time, without words 4’21”
I drew a final breath in the dream 5’50”
yawning in an afternoon’s monotony 5’44”
fading is the presence of the woman 4’53”
once again, I revert to that perspective 6’00”
dust it off and make sure which way is up 4’35”
measure the angle of my neck 4’32”
rain to sleet, sleet to snow 5’56”
as I turn around, a movement catches the corner of my eye 3’38”
drifts the scent, outside the frame 4’39”
that is the essence 3’23”
MAJU are Sakana Hosomi,Hikaru Sekine,Syunsuke Sakamoto,Masaki Narita & Kousuke Nakamura
Tracks 4,6,7,8 & 11 written and performed by Sakana Hosomi
Tracks 3 &5 written and performed by Sakana Hosomi & Hikaru Sekine
Track 2 written and performed by Sakana Hosomi & Syunsuke Sakamoto
Track 1 written and performed by Sakana Hosomi & Masaki Narita
Track 10 written and performed by Sakana Hosomi & Kousuke Nakamura
Track 9 written and performed by Kousuke Nakamura
Poetry reading and translation into Chinese on Track 3 by Keiko Hosomi
Poems by Hikaru Sekine
Recorded and Mixed at Studio Nekojirushigyunyu, Tokyo
Engineered by Sakana Hosomi, Syunsuke Sakamoto, Masaki Narita & Kousuke Nakamura
Produced by Sakana Hosomi
Thank you to Yuko Utibori, Atushi Hirose, Yoshinori Tamura, Yoshihiro Kashiwagi, Mami Watanabe, Haruna Ito, Satomi Kuwahira & Sumiko Nasukawa
Poem translated into English by Rick Tanaka
Cover art and design by Doriana Corda