Masayoshi Fujita - Apologues (2015)

Having released more ambient-based/electronic recordings of the vibraphone under el fog, Masa became more interested in the sound of the vibraphone itself. He started to compose acoustic pieces and released the first solo album under his real name, titled 'Stories', in early 2013. 'Apologues' sees Masayoshi for the first time use an array of instruments besides his lead instrument - such as the violin, cello, flute, clarinet, French horn, accordion, piano and snare drum played by friends, but arranged by Masa himself. Inspired by 'the silence and deepness of the fog, the mountains and the gravity within', his music has a very unique atmosphere and often creates images in the listener. 'Requiem', which Masayoshi composed for French horn, to him evokes 'images of mountains, fields and the far away'. The song 'Tears of Unicorn' was inspired by a painting which features in Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli animation 'Kiki's Delivery Service', drawn by a woman that lives in the forest. ''With this album the main idea was to evoke images, atmospheres, sceneries and stories in the listener, the images that have accumulated in myself. At the same time it was an exploration of the unexplored beauty of the vibraphone, and also a pursuit of the charm of the instrumentation and the music itself. Erased Tapes releases a lot of great stuff and naturally became my favourite label of late. And I thought it would fit well to my music''.