"Ooharu" - Masakatsu Takagi
Life explosion
In my view, music is all about context. The moment in which it’s written, the environment in which it’s listened to, the state of mind of the writer, performer, and listener. That’s why it felt so extraordinary to stumble upon Kagayaki, a masterpiece of storytelling by Masakatsu Takagi, in which he manages to paint the contours of an entire life lived through the context of everyday sounds.
Background
Shortly after moving with his wife to a small village in a mountainous region of Japan, Takagi began working on Kagayaki. Taken in by the new rhythms of life in the village, he began recording everyday sounds: the natural ambience, chatter of the villagers, and snippets of routine and celebration. These field recordings became the foundation of the album and, combined with traditional folk instruments, vocal samples, piano, and meticulous production, Takagi was able to capture the spirit, soul, and emotion of the tight-knit community.
Kagayaki translates to ‘shining’, the perfect name for a piece of work celebrating the beauty of community, nature, and the joy of living. In an interview, Takagi mentioned that the title was inspired by a young girl who lived in his old town:
At school, she attended a special class called ‘Kagayaki (shining)’. While I was playing the piano, she rode a bicycle and started circling in front of my house. I loved that feeling, and it was my pleasure to play the piano just as she kept riding her bicycle in circles all the time. This feeling still keeps capturing my heart.
What it means to me
I’ve spoken about my love for field recording in an earlier blog post. Kagayaki is the embodiment of everything I love about field recording. It takes the familiar everyday, perhaps mundane, sounds of community and nature and weaves them into a performance, amplifying their emotional significance. The entire album is bursting with a vibrant sense of life and joy. It is, though this phrase is overused, a truly human experience.
In a later project, Marginalia, Takagi recorded his piano with all the doors and windows open, letting the sounds of nature meld with his playing and, “hoping [his] piano [would] join in the joy of everything living“. In Kagayaki, the walls of the recording studio have been blown down, and the essence and joy of living have been directly infused into the music.
What to listen for
It was very difficult to choose my favourite track from this album, so here are a few highlights:
“Ooharu“ combines multiple vocal tracks with a dazzling piano accompaniment, blended with recordings of the local natural landscape which explode into an otherworldly chorus.
“Nurse them Make a fire Feed yourself Express your Mirth“ features a live, improvised recording with a few local instruments during a festival gathering in the village. It ranges from celebratory to intimate with ease.
Ageha (Gassho) is a simple recording of a local choir practice. The lack of polish and the intermittent, low laughter makes it heartbreakingly genuine.
Suggested listening activity
Lie in the grass and forget how to think.
