- LP
- Recommended
Masayoshi Fujita
Migratory
Erased Tapes - Cat No: ERATP167
- updated:2025-06-13
The latest work from the singular Japanese vibraphone/marimba player Masayoshi Fujita, who also has a tour with Jan Jelinek coming up.
Built on the theme of awakening images of nature within the listener, the comforting resonance of marimba and vibraphone soaks through the entire record, yet this is a soundscape carrying many layers rather than mere chill-out. The balance struck between a Japanese sense of environmental music and sheer intelligence is exquisite. Highest recommendation.
Built on the theme of awakening images of nature within the listener,
Track List

In 2020 he returned home after 13 years in Berlin and relocated to Kami, Hyogo Prefecture. There he converted a closed-down kindergarten into "Kebi Bird Studio," where this album came together. Participating musicians include labelmate Hatis Noit, Swedish sho player Mattias Hallsten, and even Fujita's own father. The "Migratory" of the title refers to movement, inspired by the border-crossing lives and musical outlooks of the participating musicians and of Fujita himself. The concept imagines migratory birds crossing the skies of Africa, Southeast Asia and Japan, listening to the music of the earth below.
"The sounds of nature themselves are recorded here, but more than that, the essence of this work is 'evoking images of nature within the listener through music.'" (Masayoshi Fujita)
Rich, luxurious gaps between the notes; the organic feel drifting throughout differs from the American new age / Leaving Records camp, evoking instead a texture long held by Japanese artists and the lineage of Hiroshi Yoshimura. It carries you away before you notice... cinematic and organic. Wonderful. (Original Japanese text by Shhhhh)