A Guitar, A Home-Made Synth ...& Two Drum Machines

 

Ryo Kawasaki - Featuring "Concierto De Aranjuez" [PROZ-7902 JPN 2021 24-Bit FLAC]

Recorded in a New York home studio with just a Yamaha guitar plugged into a home-made synthesizer, a TR-808, a Boss DR-55 and a Fostex 8-track, Japanese guitar virtuoso Ryo Kawasaki originally released this unique album on Philips Japan in 1982. Here is the first ever repress of this impressive solo album which was overseen by Canadian jazz supremo Gil Evans..

Side one works around the Spanish guitar and reinterpretations of classical work by Manuel De Falla, Joaquín Rodrigo and Ernest Bloch. Side two opens with a jazz-tinged interpretation of Antonio Carlos Jobim's A Felicidade, before four electronic self-compositions revealing the flexibility & creativity enabled by Kawasaki's synthesizer. The up-tempo Marilyn leans into Tangerine Dream territory and then you get the wonderful chilled beats of Hawaiian Caravan.

Never released in the west, there is much on this unique record to discover and enjoy.

A1 Escena / Cancion Del Fuego Fatuo

A2 Adagio From "Concierto De Aranjuez"

A3 Introduction From "Schelomo"

B1 A Felicidade

B2 Marilyn

B3 Hawaiian Caravan

B4 Mercy Of The Dragon

B5 Twilight Song