Going to Japan

“Thank you for this beautiful music.”

The album Going to Japan was inspired by a trip to Japan made a few years before I started creating this album. Some of it is true, some of it is made up but inspired by what I saw and experienced over there. For a westerner, it is a very interesting and inspiring place. If you have a chance, go visit.

You can get the album on Bandcamp.

Intercontinental flight

A soundscape: a ride on a plane. With a very long, intercontinental flight ahead of you, the only thing to do is sit back and relax, enjoy the food (the chocolate and nuts you brought yourself, obviously), and listen to  music like “Intercontinental flight” to drift away, imagining what you may encounter at your destination.

If you like this song, you may also like “Park in the rain“, another soundscape featuring a walk in the park.

Jump off the stage

Standing at the edge of Kiyomizu overlooking the trees I imagined the more than 200 people who jumped down from it. The platform they used is an impressive 13 metres above the ground. Legend goes that those who jumped off had their wish granted. That may or may not have been true, who can tell. Side effects included broken bones and quite a few deaths, but also the expression “to jump off the stage at Kiyomizu”, or “to take the plunge” in the English-speaking world. I spent a long time wondering what could make a person take that jump, whether their wishes were granted, what their wishes were in the first place, and who would start such a tradition anyway?

If you like this song, you may also like “Mount Atago“, a musical impression of a walk up Mount Atago on a foggy day.

Returning east, going home

Every journey has to end. Back on the train, rolling out of the station and back to the airport. Trains in Japan can be smooth and fast, which is what this song is reflecting. Near the end you notice a hint of sadness as the realisation hits that it is time to go home.

If you like this song, you may also like “Travelling west“, going in the opposite direction with the same grace and speed.