Songs by Taku Sugimoto / Minami Saeki

The concept of Songs, the duo project of guitarist Taku Sugimoto and vocalist Minami Saeki, came about in the second half of 2016. By that December they had already made recordings of their music, and the following February they released their debut album, "Songs" (CD), on Sugimoto's label, slubmusic. Since then, the duo has had an active performance schedule in Japan and overseas, including European tours in 2017 and 2018. Now they have released their second album, the 2-CD set "Songs."

Most of the tracks are short songs between one and four minutes long. All 40 songs (22 on CD 1 and 18 on CD 2) were recorded in Japan and Europe in 2017 and 2018. Lyrics are by Saeki, and compositions are by Sugimoto (except for one song composed by Saeki). Some songs were performed with guest musicians Takashi Masabuchi (guitar), Wakana Ikeda (flute), French musician Léo Dupleix (computer, objects, sine-tones), and Finnish musician Lauri Hyvärinen (guitar).

The basic format consists of extremely short, simple songs performed slowly and quietly, with few sounds, using vocals and guitar only. But if you listen carefully, you'll hear within the simplicity a mysteriously well thought out organization. Both extremely unique and abundantly charming, this is a song album that makes you feel as if you could listen forever.

ギターの杉本拓とヴォーカルの佐伯美波のデュオ・プロジェクト "Songs" の構想が生まれたのが、2016年後半。早くもその年の12月に録音がおこなわれ、翌年2月には、杉本のレーベル slubmusic からデビュー・アルバム『Songs』(CD) をリリース。その後、ふたりは2017年と2018年のヨーロッパ・ツアーを含み、国内外で活発な演奏活動を展開。そして今回、CD2枚組によるセカンド・アルバムのリリースとなった。

そのほとんどが１〜４分の短い曲で、2017年と2018年に日本と欧州で録音した全40曲 (CD1に22曲、CD2に18曲) を収録。作詞は佐伯が、作曲は１曲を除き杉本が担当 (１曲は佐伯の作曲)。増渕顕史 (ギター)、池田若菜 (フルート)、フランスの Léo Dupleix (コンピュータ、物、サイン波)、フィンランドの Lauri Hyvärinen (ギター) が数曲でゲスト参加。

極めてシンプルな短い曲を、ヴォーカルとギターだけでゆっくりと静かに少ない音数で演奏するのが基本形。しかし、じっくり耳を傾ければ、シンプルな中にしっかりと計算された構成の妙を聴き取ることができる。この上なくユニークでありながら、いつまでも聴いていたい気分にさせられる魅力に満ちた歌ものアルバム。