A cathedral-like reverb was set up in the NHK studio, layered over a meticulously crafted EDM track featuring Nao Takeuchi’s bass clarinet in a bold fusion of dub, ambient, and improvisation. Imagine if Theo Macero of the 1970s were to greet a Miles Davis session in a modern studio—this is the kind of approach he might have taken for a direct, live studio recording. Musicians only needed one take. Letting performers listen to playbacks would lead to strategising during subsequent takes, so to avoid that, even rehearsals were skipped. The decision of what qualifies as the “OK take” and how it is structured lies solely with the producer’s editorial authority.

The album’s mastermind, Seigen Ono, created this sound from simple, memo-like theme sheets, treating the space itself as an integral part of the arrangement. While the EDM track’s four-track surround was
pre-constructed, the live recording of this album was completed in just three hours.

Bass clarinet – Nao Takeuchi
Sampler keyboards- Seigen Ono
Trumpet and keyboards- Issei Igarashi