On the Path of Death and Life Fumio Yasuda

• 1Novellette08:08
• 2Blue Era06:46
• 3Skyscape07:21
• 4Mahoroba04:24
• 5Spring Rain06:38
• 6Memory and Desire03:46
• 7Kiri07:27
• 8Ame06:56
• 9Lament in the Dunes07:10
• 10Red Era07:54
• Total Runtime01:06:30

Info for On the Path of Death and Life

'On the Path of Death and Life' At the end of 2010 Stefan Winter asked the Japanese artist Nobuyoshi Araki to provide photographs for an audiovisual work. In co-operation with the composer Fumio Yasuda, who has worked with Araki and with Winter for many years, a new world of sound and image has been developed. Winter had the vision to combine noise and aural finds – made specifically for this project – with musical compositions and images. During the first preparations, the unimaginable takes place. On March 11th, 2011 a gigantic wave rolled over parts of Japan and caused the nuclear disaster of Fukushima. The tsunami destroyed whole districts, killed thousands, separated families from one another; friends disappeared to never come back.

This powerful event affected the work of Araki, Yasuda and Winter, as they created the elements for the installation. In 2011 and 2012, Nobuyoshi Araki, Fumio Yasuda, Stefan Winter and Mariko Takahashi met several times in Japan. It so happened that both Winter and Takahashi visited the area of Fukushima and Sendai shortly before the destruction. After the catastrophe the first recordings took place. Mariko Takahashi and Stefan Winter collected audio tracks, recorded sounds and noises on their journey through Japan. They searched and found specific concrete noises to build the soundscapes. Three main related elements (the act of baptism, the journey, the big wave) form the unedited movements. These main parts are broken and altered during the final montage. Araki created images, portraits, family photos, some of them he scratched to show scars. He photographed flowers, dragons, landscapes, uncovered women and oversized blossoms.

In the summer of 2012 Winter recorded Fumio Yasuda and his trio in Tokyo. Yasuda composed new works for Arakis visual world. His compositions and improvisations are the musical guideline, and together with the soundscapes build the world for the listener. The individual parts become one and the trilogy of death and life arises. It is important for Araki that there is life after death and not the other way around. Death is not the end as life starts again. Each part has the same detailed time-frame of 22 minutes. However, each part is independent and self-contained. 22 is a master number symbolizing that all obstacles can be overcome and way can be made for clear goals. The number 22 stands for high energy, which signals shadow and light.

The music of Fumio Yasuda, Stefan Winter's soundscapes and the art photographs of Nobuyoshi Araki form in three episodes the work: 'On the Path of Death and Life'.

Fumio Yasuda, piano
Akimuse, vocals
Nobuyoshi Ino, bass
Stefan Winter, sounsdscapes

Fumio Yasuda
born 1953 in Tokyo, graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Composition major. Starts composing at the age of 17, soon finds his interest in improvisational music and performs together with one of the most known improvisers in Japan, guitarist Masayuki Takayanagi as a pianist. From 1995, he starts his musical collaboration with the photographer Nobuyoshi Araki. The main compositions performed from Araki's projects are, "Tokyo Comedy" (1997 in Wien), "Shijo" (1998 in Hamburg), "1999 Taipei - Summer" (1999 in Taipei) and the latest project was performed in Prato, Italy in 2000. Fumio Yasuda has recorded the albums »Kakyoku«, »Charmed with Verdi«, »Schumann's Bar Music«, »Heavenly Blue« and »Las Vegas Rhapsody«, »Berlin – Songs of love and war, peace and exile«, »Schumann's Favored Bar Songs« and »Mother Goose's Melodies« for Winter & Winter.

Already the album »Kakyoku« represents the fruits of Yasuda's ongoing collaboration with Japan's most famous photographer, Nobuyoshi Araki. In contrast to the atonality and often-challenging tenor of much of today's classical music, Yasuda's scores are remarkably accessible. At times recalling the Impressionism of post-romantic composers such as Debussy. As Araki comments, "Yasuda's music is sometimes sentimental and sometimes almost insane. It has a way of getting under one's skin and touching both body and soul."

This album contains no booklet.