Butaji - Thoughts of You - Japan Vinyl LP Record

Credits:

Butaji

Description:

"Thoughts of You" is music that rises from thinking of someone. Their previous album, 'RIGHT TIME', released in 2021, won the Grand Prize at the "APPLE VINEGAR -Music Award-2022" established by Masafumi Gotō of ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, earning high praise for its solid artistic merit. They co-wrote the theme song "Presence" for the Kantele/Fuji TV drama series "Towa Daidou and Her Three Ex-Husbands," and collaborated with STUTS on timelesz's "Summer Ride." Furthermore, as Mirage Collective with STUTS, YONCE (Suchmos, Hedigan's) as Mirage Collective to produce "Mirage," the theme song for the same Kantele/Fuji TV series "Elpis." Singer-songwriter butaji has woven melodies and lyrics that reach into living rooms nationwide through his exceptional songwriting. Now, butaji's first full album since 2021, 'Thoughts of You,' is complete. The music of an era when the great jazz pianist and singer Nat King Cole graced popular music. Butaji has long been captivated by the rich arrangements that gently envelop you while conveying the very breath of life in that music. We wanted to create works for today that carry that resonance in our own songwriting. We also wanted to deliver music that can be savored slowly in this modern age where everything is rapidly visualized. With these sentiments as the starting point, the creation of this album began. As a result, a vast number of musicians gathered for this work, each carefully shaping butaji's music through their performances. Centered around band instrumentation, it blends a modern band sound infused with nostalgia for that era with layered string arrangements, giving birth to a singer-songwriter album that feels warm and intimate. Evoking the texture of 50s and 60s pop and singer-songwriter works, while also drawing from butaji's love for 90s J-POP, the melodies and lyrics unique to butaji offer us, living in 2026, a moment to breathe and a gentle pause to reflect. Its origins trace back to 2021, when he collaborated with musician Yusaku Arai as the unit butasaku on NHK's experimental short drama "I Want to Hear Your Voice." The sole character cannot hear the other person's voice—for this work, which continuously filmed someone talking on the phone for ten minutes, he repeatedly sketched out ideas, asking himself, "What kind of music would I create if it were me?" The result was "In Silence," which opens the album. While honestly reflecting the atmosphere of the times, this album doesn't only produce bright sounds. Yet, this song, which sings of feelings for someone, serves as a guiding light for the entire album. Takuro Okada, highly acclaimed for his work with Satoko Shibata and Yuka, participated in the production of this track and "Lost Souls," while contemporary musician Yuma Koda handled the string arrangements. Additionally, Tadashi Machida handled the strings on four other tracks, enriching the musical expression. (1/2)