Shimazaki Tohjin - Tohjin Classical Guitarist - Import HQCD

Credits:

Shimazaki Tohjin

Description:

The first CD from Tôto Shimazaki, a classical guitarist born in Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture and active mainly in the Kansai region. Although he is a veteran of more than 50 years, he has never studied under anyone, and because of his unique playing style, he has been treated as a heretic and has not received proper recognition until now. Most of the 17 pieces in this collection are well-known classical pieces, but the moment a note is played, it rises to the surface and the expressive sound presents a world different from that of ordinary classical guitar. The secret of the sound lies in Shimazaki's unique technique, which he has developed over many years, and his modified guitar. The former is mainly the way Shimazaki plucks the strings of the guitar as if cutting them at an angle, which is extremely difficult to describe in writing. The latter was achieved by cutting off the bridge, leaving only the saddle portion of the guitar, and drilling a hole in the top (surface plate) of the guitar to fix the strings in place. The guitar was modified by Shimazaki himself, who is very dexterous with his hands. The jacket and booklet feature heartwarming illustrations that are different from those of the performance, but they express Shimazaki's image of the music. Incidentally, all the illustrations were done by Shimazaki's most talented female disciple. Originally released in November 2021 on the Alquimista label under Waon Records, this CD is now being re-released in its original form under the new ShinRec label (the actual creator of this CD). We hope you will enjoy not only Shimazaki's one and only performance, but also the natural sound with a sense of atmosphere brought by the high-quality recording with two microphones and DSD 5.6MHZ, which is ShinRec's creed. This work received high praise for its performance and recording from Kazumi Iwade, editorial advisor of "Stereo Magazine" (January 2022 issue) in his article "On the Margin of Sound" and from Hiroshi Yasunobu in his "Ongaku Gendai Magazine" (March 2022 issue) in his "Review of New Music". This is a reissue of a CD originally released by WAON RECORDS on November 19, 2021 as a self-produced CD. King International