5 Dec.

“program music I”, released approximately a year and a half ago introduced audiences to a musical interpretation of two Japanese literary classics, “Night on the Milky Way Railroad” and “Run Melos!” and revealed the rich musical talent of kashiwa daisuke. As we enter the final one digit year of the new millennium, we are proud to release “5 Dec.”, an album that drops hints of what’s to come in the next 10 years. kashiwa’s first album released from German label, onpa, in 2006 won rave reviews from many artists including Ryuichi Sakamoto. In his second album, “program music I” released the following year, kashiwa daisuke defined his presence once again in the world of music. The artist’s lyrical melody and dynamic and inventive musical arrangements have led his work to new frontiers in TV commercials and fashion shows. kashiwa casts also off a powerful presence on the online world through his musical + visual collaboration with Koji Nishida of RAKU-GAKU, the artist behind kashiwa’s album jackets. In his third album, “5 Dec.”, kashiwa daisuke makes yet another step into a new horizon. In this album, the artist’s signature melody with its flowing, oriental taste hides behind the shadows to be replaced by tearing voice samples and noisy and metallic guitar sounds thrashing almost violently on top of colorful uplifting beats such as break core, down tempo, bleep techno, and drum n’ bass. In contrast to the aggressive sounds of the first half, the second part of the album starting with the 6th track, “Silver Moon” guides audiences to a minimal world created through electronic sounds and the piano. As a whole, the album portrays a brilliant contrast of sound. The melody of this album does not impose sentimentalism or nostalgia onto its listeners but rather, it takes them on a journey into rhythm from beginning to end. Even amidst the violent and excessive elements, there is always a composed eye seeing into the passion that lies beneath, there is a self-disciplined, strict interpretation of the world, a sublime and metallic texture… this is what the artist kashiwa daisuke may be all about. Turn your ears and experience the fruit of kashiwa daisuke’s new challenge and step with him into a whole new level of musical originality.