■ Overview
“Stills and Remains,” the debut solo album by Kansai-based cellist Yuki Nakagawa, has been released by the Dutch label 〈Unheard of hope〉.
This album was created under the concept that every sound on the recording is produced by a single cello. While the sound is expanded using effects pedals, no other instruments or field recordings are used whatsoever; what remains is the act of performance—the back-and-forth of “sound = voice” generated between the instrument and the body.
However, the soundscape that emerges from this constraint does not remain confined to the singularity one might imagine; rather, the diverse “voices” produced by the instrument, percussive textures, subtle noises from his self-made bow, and drones layer upon one another to form music that exists as a single environment or space.

■ Concept & Sound
For many years, Yuki Nakagawa has viewed the cello not only as an “instrument” but also as a “device for producing sound.” In this work, that philosophy is taken to its logical conclusion, with diverse sounds drawn from the cello through physical approaches such as the bow, fingers, hands, and a homemade bow. These sounds transcend conventional instrumental frameworks, emerging as “voices,” “presences,” and “phenomena.”
And within them lies not only the surprise of “Is this really the sound of a cello?” but also the quietly lingering question: “Why does it have to be a cello?”

The sounds captured in this work do not provide a clear resolution to that question; instead, while retaining their ambiguity and fluctuation, they exist both as music and as “voices.”

■ Background
Nakagawa’s musical origins lie in the improvisation and noise music scene centered in the Kansai region. After performing with an electric bass and effects pedals, he transitioned to the cello as a self-taught musician. Since then, over the course of about 15 years, he has developed his own unique playing style and sonic language.
In addition to concert works for which he handles composition, performance, and direction himself, he continues to collaborate with dance, theater, and contemporary art. He has performed at festivals in Japan and abroad as part of the duo project “KAKUHAN” with Koshiro Hino, and has released works on the UK label *Modern Love* as part of the collaborative unit “SaraUdon” with CS + Kreme.
This work deliberately condenses the accumulation of these diverse practices into “a single cello.”

■ Imagery & Title
The album title *Stills and Remains* refers to “still lifes and relics,” while also suggesting an attitude of “things that still remain here.”
The sounds on this album are fluid, yet they evoke a sensation of sinking deep and gradually accumulating. The artwork features a photograph of a cello placed in mud (taken by Yoshikazu Inoue, who has photographed this artist on numerous occasions), and this visual image resonates strongly with the music.
Furthermore, the inner sleeve features a photograph of a homemade bow—damaged during the recording of this work—which reinforces the concept of “still life/relics.”

■ Closing
“Stills and Remains” is a work that delves deeply into the boundary between music and voice.
It is both constructed music and an accumulation of “voices” that emerge as traces of existence.
The “back-and-forth” repeated between the bow, the fingers, the body, and the instrument—this album is the result of that endeavor, quietly yet with undeniable intensity, affecting the listener’s perception.