Saunter

“Saunter; (sôntr) To walk at a leisurely pace; stroll.” Tokyo based musician and composer Chihei Hatakeyama has been in a state of transit. Moving to a new home in recent months, he has found a heightened awareness of his surroundings. The clarity of new encounters with unfamiliar spaces and the sharpness of experience that follows, has become the musical starting point for his latest long player Saunter. Saunter is in some ways an auditory interpretation of the monochromatic Chinese painting style ‘Sansui-Ga’. An approach concerned with the themes of landscape, ‘Sansui-Ga’ seeks to express a sense of philosophical consideration for the form and shape. Saunter follows this approach, casting out lush layers of texture that seem to sound out the edges of landscape. The sounds dynamic fluctuations suggesting structures, trees, fields and other aspects dotting the landscape in which Hatakeyama finds himself. Focused particularly on the transition from Fall to Winter, this record is a graceful and considered work. Elegantly crafted with an attention to subtle melodic variation and harmonic richness Saunter is a ‘visionary’ collection from one of Japan’s finest composers.