Tomotsugu Nakamura is a musician and graphic designer residing in Tokyo, Japan who composes music with fragments of minimal acoustic & electronic tones and field recordings. My first exposure to his work was the last year’s monologue, an excellent recording that appeared on the Audiobulb label and became a shoo-in for the annual round-up of memorable electroacoustic & experimental folk releases. Nakamura is back this year with his fifth complete album entitled Literature on Laaps Records.
For those not already familiar with Lapps, the distinguishing mark of the label is the motif of tying albums together by bridging the end of each one into the beginning of the next. The predecessor to Literature is Danny Clay’s Ocean Park and it is the intricate music box sounds on the outro of its final track that coalesce into the opening seconds of Nakamura’s “Lilac”. What follows is an aesthetically pleasing exercise in sonic pointillism, a discreetly minimal collage of tactile, organic sounds that exude harmony and balance. Though supremely calm in demeanor, the overall affect is stimulating to the mind and there is an abundance of crisp, resonant sounds for the ears to constantly seek out.
Links: Bandcamp (LP/CD/DL) | More by Tomotsugu Nakamura
In a field of music with a propensity toward toward the nostalgic and immersive, Nakamura offers something refreshingly different. The closing moments of Literature leaves us anticipating what is next for this fascinating artist as well as what direction the music will take when the next Laaps artist takes up the baton.
Literature was mastered by Taylor Deupree an features artwork by Nicola Odemann. It will be available beginning July 13, 2020 in two hand-numbered limited editions of 200 copies each, a glass-mastered CD and a yellow colored vinyl LP. Digital downloads will also be available.
Stationary Travels 