26.1.11

COSMOS - Pre-Delay (2011)



COSMOS Pre-Delay

01. High & Low (Acoustic)
02. Silent Blues
03. Haru wha Kuru
04. Kyoh no Dekigoto
05. Phytoncide
06. Anata de Aru Yohni
07. High & Low
08. Harukaze ni Notte
09. Love in Rain
10. Nami-oto
11. Shopping in the Street
12. California wha Hare

Music played by COSMOS.
Mariko Itoh: vocal, piano.
Toru Matsuura: guitar, bass, synthesizer, drum machine, vocal.
All words and music by COSMOS
except Anata de Aru Yohni: music by Junko Hayakawa.
Piano on Anata de Aru Yohni by Rumiko Tanaka.
Recorded in 1999.
Remixed and designed by Yasuhiro Yamaoka, January 2011.

Pop songs by an acoustic music duo COSMOS: Mariko Itoh and Toru Matsuura. Compiled by Toru Matsuura from their two original albums in 1999, remixed by Yasuhiro Yamaoka in 2011.



About COSMOS
COSMOS was formed as an acoustic music duo by Toru Matsuura and Mariko Itoh in 1999. They were both students in a song writing class called Melodist conducted by Rumiko Tanaka who is known for a song about the Hiroshima atomic bomb attack: Natsu no Uta. At the time, the two were hoping to become professional musicians. They brought their original songs to each lesson, and exchanged their opinions about them. The lessons were run in a very relaxed atomosphere. Matsuura, who thought his vocals were not good, was interested in the vocal sound of Itoh. He then asked her to form COSMOS with him.
This new version of Pre-Delay is compiled mostly with tracks chosen from Pre-Delay I released in April 1999 and Pre-Delay II released in August of the same year.
The 1st track, High & Low (Acoustic), was on the compilation album Rough Diamond that was produced by the live perfomance house Ohtsuka Cave. The 2nd track, Silent Blues, through the 6th track Anata de Aru Yohni are taken from Pre-Delay I (includes 8 songs). The 7th track, High & Low, to the 11th track, Shopping in the Street, are taken from Pre-Delay II (includes 8 songs). California wha Hare, chosen as the last song, was recorded separately by Matsuura around the same time. The new release is a compilation of 12 songs in total.
At the time of the original album, COSMOS was intending to make a major debut, but their actions were a little impatient. Possibly, the difference in music directions of Matsuura and Itoh made their collaboration over a longer period difficult. COSMOS split after one more album.

Toru Matsuura official web page
Toru Matsuura (music archive) in YOWorks

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25.1.11

Toru Matsuura - how do you do? (1991)



Toru Matsuura how do you do?

01. Market no Jo-oh
02. BRASS DANCE
03. Kakurenbo (Dare mo Inai)
04. how do you do?
05. Suigyu Song
06. Oh-uridashi
07. Jawa no Hanayome

All compostions by Toru Matsuura, November 1991.
Digitally remastered by Yasuhiro Yamaoka, November 2010.

The 1st release of an album by Toru Matsuura from YOWorks. These exotic instrumental compositions with his interest in South-East Asian culture was originally recorded in 1991, and was digitally remastered by Yasuhiro Yamaoka in 2010 here.

About Toru Matsuura
Born March 31st 1958, in Ohta-ku, Tokyo. He spent his childhood surrounded by green nature in Musashisakai.
He got to know the Beatles at the end of elementary school, and then got into Hard Rock/Progressive Rock/Glam Rock during his junior high school years. Around this time he bought an electric guitar and an amplifire. Throughout his high school life, he dived deeply into the abyssal world of Rock. Hearing Anarchy in the U.K. by the Sex Pistols on the radio gave him a shock. I Don't Mind by the Buzzcocks made his eyes open wide to Punk and he began song writing.
He formed a punk-pop band Tokyo 2-channel (TVC2). and later joined the originator of Japanese Girl's Bands Boys Boys as the bassist, and participated with them in the Pass Live Tour. Later he joined with Non Band as the guitarist. He began a guitar solo project using a sound delay effector. He Participated in music productions for FM commercials/the theater/and films, etc. He formed the accoustic duo Cosmos, and released their 4 CDs. He joined with Totsuzen Danball as the guitarist, and formed Sora no Sachi (Joy of the Sky) with Jason Shalton from Panicsmile. He formed Tengoku Ryokoh with trumpeter Tetsuroh Konishi, and is now trying to sing solo with his guitar.

Toru Matsuura official web page
Toru Matsuura (music archive) in YOWorks

I am happy that I can introduce how do you do? by Toru Matsuura. Known as a guitarist, this entire album was recorded in 1991 and kept stored away in a closet. It was composed using a Roland S-50 digital PCM sampler keyboard and a Kawai Q-80 MIDI sequencer. Here, his interest in South-East Asian culture is nicely blended into strange exotic Rock music.

Yamaoka Yasuhiro November 2010.

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