在《Book of Life》這張新專輯中,藤田正嘉嘗試以即興的方式創作,相較過去帶了更多管弦樂的元素,後面的弦樂隊樂手便是Erased Tapes廠牌旗下的知名音樂人,不僅能夠聽到樂手間的合作互動,他們還為每首歌設定了背景故事,例如的作曲就意為著藤田正嘉的電顫琴是在暴風雪上方盤旋的鳥,有大提琴和長笛作為電顫琴的延伸,描述一個男人在飛機發明之前將人工翅膀放在他的手臂上,試圖像鳥一樣飛翔;藤田為《Book of Life》下了一個鮮明的註腳──兩個人相遇並且分享了彼此的生命,默許聽眾們在聆聽《Book of Life》細膩朦朧的有機聲響時,這個唯美的意象能夠同時徜徉腦海中。
Following on from his acclaimed works Stories and Apologues, Berlin-based composer and vibraphonist Masayoshi Fujita will release his new album Book of Life, the third instalment in a trilogy of solo vibraphone recordings, on July 27th via Erased Tapes. Stories, the first in the series and Masayoshis debut under his own name, will be re-issued by Erased Tapes at the same time.
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.
I think the vibraphone is capable of more interesting and beautiful sounds that havent been heard before. Its quite a new instrument but its often played in a similar way. I feel that there is a lot more to explore with this exciting instrument.
— Masayoshi Fujita