September 16, 2024
Change is perhaps the only constant in Japan’s seasons. Since the release of ‘Towadako Spring’ in June, we have seen Sakura trees bloom, downpours soak the Cedar trees of the Hachimantai National Forest and - most recently - a short, hot summer disperse as Japan’s Southwest coast is struck by Typhoon Shanshan.
The seasons in Japan are pronounced, dramatic and form the cornerstone of a cultural connection with nature. With the release of ‘Towadako Summer’ in August, Nick Wood and Syn enter the third chapter of the Towadako Series, celebrating Japan’s seasons through music and sound and lovingly documenting the seasonal changes around Lake Towada in Northern Japan.
Summer is a season for celebration in Japan, with festivals (Matsuri) celebrated all across the country. Costumes are donned, music is played, food is served and Sake is spilled as communities gather to mark the time of year in a colourful revelry for all the ages. Near Lake Towada in Aomori City, the Nebuta Festival attracts more visitors than any other festival in Japan. As the sound of Taiko drums reverberate through the ground, a warrior-like puppet is paraded through the city streets, as dancers corral visitors with animated cries. From the busyness of the festivals, to the tranquility of the lake, herein lies the essence of the Japanese summer.
Let's rewind to mid-August and, while Tokyo bakes in a concrete jungle of clawing humidity, the cooler climate of Lake Towada hosts Nick Wood’s lakeside studio; a musical conduit through which listeners can be transported to this extraordinary part of Japan through sound. Summer is generally considered as a positive season; a time of long school holidays, outdoor adventures, sun-kissed landscapes, all canopied by luscious greenery as plants come to life. This carefree breeziness was at the heart of Wood’s intention for ‘Towadako Summer’, embracing a sense of positivity and reflection. Wood shares his inspiration for ‘Towadako Summer’ from the lake’s shoreline itself, “Summer in Japan is a very happy, positive season - maybe it is everywhere. I think something to do with these really amazing festivals, like Aomori City which has the ‘Nebuta’ festival (visited by between 2.5-3-million people each year). I’ve always liked the Japanese summer, I like it - even in Tokyo. There’s something very comforting to me about the summer. I went to boarding school and the summer holiday was always these 12-weeks of absolute happiness and freedom. I think there’s something in my past that I relate summer to happiness and freedom and good things will happen.”
Having already composed over 50-minutes of music for the Towadako Series (Towadako Spring & Towadako Rain), how does one go about creating something fresh, new and unique for the latest iteration. Without the use of lyrics or voice narration, Wood’s intention was solely to use musical composition and the inclusion of field recordings to portray the seasons, employing music as the key storyteller in the series. Each chapter of the seasonal collection tells a different story, and ‘Summer’ gives the listener a sense of arrival at a milestone within the wider project.
Nick Wood’s first instrument is bass guitar, and whilst not an instrument traditionally associated with summer, this is where the foundations of ‘Summer’ began. Using bass guitar and piano, Wood created a repeating chordal motif which acts as a framework into which field recording sounds and additional melodic elements are woven. With a passion for Nylon Guitar and the softness of this acoustic instrument, Wood looked to guitarist Gyan Riley for collaboration, “Nylon guitar had this summer essence, because of my love of Bossa Nova perhaps, I feel it’s a very happy, summer instrument and it works well for the concept of summer. I was introduced to Gyan Riley, who is a phenomenal musician who was doing some shows in Tokyo, and asked him to come and record at Syn, so that was a really special collaboration”. Son of American composer Terry Riley, Gyan Riley is an alumni of The San Francisco Conservatory of Music with accomplishments including his work on Grammy-award winning artist Arooj Aftab’s “Vulture Prince” album. His signature style of delicate, intricate guitar work brings a gentle self-reflection to ‘Towadako Summer’, interpreting Nick Wood’s chords with thoughtful voicing and a sense of space. Riley’s guitar work was further complimented by upright soft-felt piano, recorded with emotionally charged precision by Estonian pianist, Alexander Motovilov.
A distinction from previous chapters in the ‘Towadako Series’ is the prominence of the human voice in ‘Towadako Summer’, featuring Japanese artist Hiromi Yanagi on vocals and vocalisations. Yanagi’s vocals become the subject of the composition, asking the listener to consider her as the personification of ‘Mother Nature’, drifting throughout the piece like an elemental force. As a multi-disciplined artist, Hiromi Yanagi has released albums under her own name, but a collaboration of this kind was a departure from her usual work. Nick Wood describes the collaboration as ‘a major contribution from an amazing artist and songwriter’, and goes on to explain “Hiromi [sic] was a bit cautious and nervous to join, but we recorded the vocals at my home studio and made her feel very comfortable and relaxed. I came up with this idea that her voice was Mother Nature, and the character of her voice takes the listener on the ups and down of summer. It’s mostly a positive feeling, but summers are getting hotter - we have global warming - and there is a lot of concern in Japan about the rising temperatures, because we are all feeling it, so I really love this idea that her voice portrays that character.” Echoing Wood’s sentiments about Yanagi’s role in the storytelling of ‘Summer’, she requested her voice be processed to remove human-like elements, such as breaths and mouth-sounds, giving her vocals a truly other-worldly quality.
A common thread in the ‘Towadako Series’ is the use of PlantWave technology in field recordings at Lake Towada. This incredible pocket-sized device captures tiny electrical signals from living plants and converts it to MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) data. Having recorded extensively at Lake Towada between 2022-2024, the Syn team has captured PlantWave recordings of a variety of plants, including Moss, 900-year old Cedar trees and Silver Birch. This musical plant data has formed the bedrock of the Towadako series, weaving ambient sounds into the collection and paying tribute to nature and the technology that gives it a voice. Alongside PlantWave data, field recording artist KAMATA has spent 2-weeks of every season at Lake Towada recording the changing flora and fauna, including Cicadas and local birds. These natural sounds have become a crucial part of the ‘Towadako Series’, as Wood expands, “We have Kamata-san recording at the lake for each season. He’s been doing 8-10 days for each season, so it’s quite a significant commitment. The field recordings are all authentically captured, like the sound of birds, and we even incorporated some of the temple bells from a recent trip to Kyoto. That gave it a nice sound of religious purposes linking back to the festivals, I wanted to use some chimes and bells.”
‘Towadako Summer’ was launched in late-August at an event in Tokyo in partnership with high-end audio brand KEF. The significance of this collaboration highlights Towadako’s marriage of nature and technology, combining organic elements with high-end audio fidelity. Mixed in Dolby Atmos by David Levin in Los Angeles, and utilising Apple Music’s spatial audio feature, ‘Towadako Summer’ immerses the listener with a multi-channel listening experience. This cross-border collaboration between Nick Wood and David Levin was key to the production process, and made all the more possible by increased availability of Dolby Atmos in everyday products, as Wood explains, “Normally for vocals in a Dolby Atmos mix you would place them in the perspective of how a singer would be singing on stage, but because I wanted Hiromi’s voice to play this role of Mother Nature, I asked him to give some movement to the vocals, which would not be normal on a pop record. So for this I asked him to consider part of the sounds of nature, and more like how we might position the sound of birds. The ability to participate in the creative mix for Dolby Atmos but without having to be in the studio with David was incredible.”
In the immortal words of John Prine, “Summer’s end is around the bend just flying, the swimming suits are on the line just drying”. As the waters of Lake Towada become cooler, and a morning swim in the shallows becomes less tempting, ‘Towadako Summer’ gives the listener a looking glass (listening glass?) Into summer in Northern Japan. Next stop will be ‘Towadako Autumn’, but for now click here to hear ‘Towadako Summer’ on Spotify and Apple Music.
