This week in our Side by Side series Hatis Noit shares her thoughts on fellow Japanese composer and multi-percussionist Masayoshi Fujita's 2021 album Bird Ambience.

"When I listened to Bird Ambience for the first time, I was deeply amazed by the crispness and boldness of the sound, as it has a very different mood from Masa-san's previous album trilogy including Book of Life, which was mostly soft and gentle.

But then, during the 2022 New Year season, when I visited his new base in Kami-cho in western Japan and saw the extraordinarily beautiful and rich landscape, which he dreamed to be surrounded by for his entire life — it totally makes sense what he aimed to describe with this album, and the deep connection between his sound and the energy of nature.

In December I was also fortunate enough to witness his completely new live set for Bird Ambience at Mutek JP in Tokyo, which was equally spellbinding. It was full of joy and playfulness by such a brave and free spirit, exploring and catching brilliant moments among multiple instruments and sound gadgets… And I can't wait to hear his next creations made in his new and original home, Japan." — Hatis Noit

· discover Bird Ambience