Name: Apologues
Brand: Masayoshi Fujita

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

ERATP 075LP

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Colour

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

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Format Music US

Limited edition

Release date

2015-09-11

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier US

Redeye

Tax rate US

Sales:8.875

UPC / Barcode

4050486110713

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Total Cap

1 / Extended format: No / LP / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No

ERATP 075CD

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{"blocks": [{"data": {"text": "CD"}, "type": "paragraph"}]}

2015-09-18

4050486110706

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1 / CD / Extended format: No / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No

Artist

Masayoshi Fujita

Genre US

Modern Composition

Label US

Erased Tapes

Spanning over ten years, Erased Tapes has nurtured avant-garde artists from all around the world whilst remaining a genre-defying and truly independent label.

Founded by German-born Robert Raths in 2007, the London-based label has grown and extended across the world, establishing satellite offices in Los Angeles and Berlin. 2015 saw BBC 6 Music radio presenter Mary Anne Hobbs stage a sold out Erased Tapes evening featuring Nils Frahm and A Winged Victory For The Sullen at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the prestigious BBC Prom series. Shortly after Erased Tapes was awarded Best Small Label at the 2015 AIM Awards.

With a current roster including the likes of <a href="https://roughtrade.com/us/artist/nils-frahm">Nils Frahm</a>, <a href="https://roughtrade.com/us/artist/peter-broderick">Peter Broderick</a>, <a href="https://roughtrade.com/us/artist/hogni">Högni</a>, <a href="https://roughtrade.com/us/artist/penguin-cafe">Penguin Cafe</a>, and <a href="https://roughtrade.com/us/artist/kiasmos">Kiasmos</a>, the label continues to go from strength to strength.

Rough Trade's Emily Waller sat down with Robert to talk about the history of the label, as well as some of his favorite projects so far:

To celebrate Erased Tapes being our Label Focus, we have the following special editions available now at Rough Trade, all purchases also come with a free Erased Tapes CD sampler:

<a href="https://roughtrade.com/us/music/all-melody">Double LP plus Rough Trade Exclusive LP <i>Encores 1</i> featuring 5 extra tracks. Comes housed in a tip-on sleeve with photograph including 12-page photo booklet and download code. Limited Edition - One Off Pressing.</a>

<a href="https://roughtrade.com/us/music/two-trains">LP+ - Rough Trade Exclusive. 250 Copies only on Transparent Green Vinyl with Download.</a>

Label Focus - Erased Tapes

<p>Masayoshi Fujita is a highly acclaimed artist known for his unique blend of classical and electronic music. With a background in percussion, Fujita creates mesmerizing compositions using a vibraphone and various other instruments. His music has been compared to the likes of Kara-Lis Coverdale and H.Takahashi, but Fujita's style is truly one-of-a-kind.</p>

<p>Listening to *Masayoshi Fujita*'s music is like entering a dream-like state, as he effortlessly combines delicate melodies with subtle electronic textures. His compositions have an ethereal quality that transports listeners to another world. Whether performing solo or collaborating with other artists such as ASUNA or Taylor Deupree, Fujita's talent shines through in every note.</p>

<p>*Masayoshi Fujita* draws inspiration from nature and everyday life, infusing his music with a sense of tranquility and introspection. His soundscapes evoke emotions and create an immersive experience for the listener. If you enjoy the works of Joseph Shabason or Triosk, then *Masayoshi Fujita* should definitely be on your radar.</p>

Includes download code. Berlin-based Japanese vibraphonist and composer Masayoshi Fujita, after releasing more ambient-based electronic recordings of the vibraphone under his el fog alias, became more interested in the sound of the vibraphone itself. He started to compose acoustic pieces and released his first solo album under his real name, titled Stories, in early 2013. Apologues sees Fujita use an array of instruments besides his lead instrument for the first time, such as the violin, cello, flute, clarinet, French horn, accordion, piano, and snare drum — played by friends, but arranged by Fujita himself. "My idea was to let those instruments express their own images or atmospheres that each instruments have by nature, or have been given in their history, and not treating them just as accompaniments of the vibraphone. Also, it was new for me to compose a song as a whole. As I wrote the vibraphone part first, I tried to hear other sounds in my head and tried to leave enough room for them and sometimes play only fundamental parts on the vibes." In addition to the mallets, Fujita often plays the vibraphone with a violin or cello bow, like on "Tears of Unicorn" and "Knight and Spirit of Lake." He also places bead strings on the vibraphone bars to create an ambient shimmer that can be heard on songs like "Moonlight" and "Swallow Flies High in the May Sky." The latter was composed to let the clarinet express its characteristics and tell its story, while the vibraphone takes a supporting role. "The clarinet sounds very warm and soft and very 'spring' to me," says Fujita. Inspired by "the silence and deepness of the fog, the mountains and the gravity within," his music has a unique, evocative atmosphere. He connects the song "Requiem," which he composed for French horn, to "images of mountains, fields and the far away." "Tears of Unicorn" was inspired by a painting that features in Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli animation Kiki's Delivery Service (1989), drawn by a woman that lives in the forest. "With this album the main idea was to evoke images, atmospheres, sceneries and stories in the listener, the images that have accumulated in myself. At the same time it was an exploration of the unexplored beauty of the vibraphone, and also a pursuit of the charm of the instrumentation and the music itself.