Ahead of his forthcoming tour, beginning at Southbank Centre's Purcell Room in London on September 23rd, Berlin-based composer and vibraphonist Masayoshi Fujita shares the beautiful animated video for Book of Life.

Directed by Porto-based visual artists Mariana Caló and Francisco Queimadela, the duo wanted to visually translate Book of Life through animation made of drawings and glyphs, using black gouache over white paper. "We tried to bring to light the textural elements present in the music, by means of sensorial exercises, reminding of writing, flowing water, wind vibration, rain, celestial bodies or small beings, simple signs of motion in nature metamorphosing into calligraphy." — Mariana Caló & Francisco Queimadela 

With Book of Life Masayoshi continues his mission in bringing the vibraphone — a relatively new invention in the history of instruments often kept in the background in orchestras and jazz outfits — into the spotlight. Having trained as a drummer, Masayoshi began experimenting with the vibraphone, preparing its bars with kitchen foil or beads, playing it with the cello bow such as in Fog or using the other end of the mallets to create a more ambient texture of sound, as with the title track. Focussing on the vibraphone in this way sets Masayoshi apart, dedicating his artistic life to celebrating this fascinating and often under appreciated instrument and making his take on ambient and modern compositional styles a unique one.

“Book of Life is very different to my other songs. It was about humans, whereas the other songs are all about animals and nature. And it was improvised initially, whereas normally my songs are composed and planned. This one was free. I scratched the vibraphone bar as if I was writing something. An image connected in my mind: these two people meeting and sharing their lives. This image was the book of life.”
 — Masayoshi Fujita

"It’s Magical could easily soundtrack a film by Hayao Miyazaki" — Pitchfork

"A masterpiece... One of a kind" — The FADER

"Fujita is a rare talent and Book of Life should announce him to a much wider audience as a vital composer with a unique voice" 8/10 — Exclaim!

"There's a singular , naturalistic purity about this ambient experimental composer's work that is truly outstanding” — Electronic Sound

· watch the video for Book of Life

· book tickets for the Book of Life tour

· order the LP/CD/DL