Tomoyoshi Date

Though born in San Paulo, Brazil, Tomoyoshi Date is yet another talented experimental artist to be based in Japan. Using the piano as his main tool of composition, the artist adds slight touches of digital processing to produce minimalist tones which are steeped in both the land of his birth and that of his current home. Tomoyoshi Date began producing music for public consumption in 1998 and soon saw significant air time on various US-based radio stations, in addition to being featured on the Fat Cat and Mile Plateaux websites. Date then joined with Fluid Radio regular Chihei Hatakeyama to form the experimental two piece act Opitope and soon released acclaimed debut album Hau in 2007. The artist has also since collaborated with Corey Fuller. Otoha takes its name from Date’s young daughter – indeed the entirety of Otoha was composed on piano between the time Date and his wife found out a daughter was expected and her eventual birth. Whether my impressions are clouded by carelessly reading the label’s press release before listening to the work or not, something of the sense of this experience seems imbued within Date’s careful, methodical piano music and it evokes the long nights of inspiration spent writing the songs. The album opens with A street corner of OIA and the street-level field recordings are blended with meandering piano melodies which repeat subtle phrases buried beneath seemingly random, yet perfectly placed notes. A spring on the hill repeats its predecessors style and pace, with this same method continuing throughout the album. Otoha does not shock or change in any particularly significant way – rather, it evolves slowly and the listener can choose to dip in and out of concentration without losing the narrative. From the opening minute of Otoha, it is clear what the remainder of the album will sound like. However, Date is such a talented performer and arranger that this turns out to be no bad thing. Like a walk down a favourite well trodden path, Otoha is familiar in a way which may not surprise, but certainly delights, asking nothing of its audience but delivering much in return. Otoha is released November 11th on Own Records.