New Music Review

 Ride into History -- HERITAGE by Masa Takumi

Travel fans whose wings have been clipped will find a fanciful escape in the new music by Masa Takumi.  The new album HERITAGE balances a journey into the past with modern beats and melodies; it is said to be reminiscent of the gorgeous work of June Kuramoto in the legendary Asian-influenced band Hiroshima.  The expansive and exotic works of Keiko Matsui also come to mind upon hearing Takumi’s soaring, high energy piano and keyboard adventure, artfully blending intense, earthbound rhythms with transcendent flights of fancy and rich sonic detail.

On Takumi's 2016 album, his solo debut Stars Falling, he composed and performed all the instruments, a sparkling orchestral dreamscape. This was followed in 2017 by the album Deep Down, which won both  Akademia Music Awards and Global Music Awards.  His artistic music video for “Deep Down” achieved a nomination at the 2018 Hollywood Music In Media Awards. Takumi is also an accomplished magician and a member of the world-famous Magic Castle, an exclusive, private club in Hollywood, California. Takumi has recently found a new home with the Domo Music Group, which is the label known for the esteemed Kitaro.

"Heritage" (3:30) opens with a bouncing boogie done in a gakaku style, which soon breaks into an icy cold bridge, then takes it back to the bounce. Decorated with traditional spooky instrument sounds, and there is that modern funky beat. I dig the thematic transformation, with lots of popping around old school imperial court music mixing with the drums and the piano, you can feel his music bringing the past to life in a symphonic way. 

Tracks:
1 Heritage (3:30)
2 Hanamachi Girl (5:12)
3 After The Nightmare (4:50)
4 Bells In Summer (4:27)
5 Toki (3:06)
6 Bamboo Forest (4:15)
7 Sakura River (3:36)
8 Midwater Night's Neo Dream (3:34)

#MasaTakumi #Heritage #JapaneseMusic #DomoMusicGroup #TheBCompany #gakaku #contemporaryinstrumental #GRAMMYNominee #Japanese #magician #musician