Osmo

“Osmo” is the debut album from the duo with Copenhagen based Japanese pianist Makiko Hirabayashi and Japanese percussionist Tomoo Nagai. “Osmo” derives from two words: “osmosis” and “cosmo”, reflected in the duo’s musical universe, where sound and space — with its unique history and architecture — permeate eachother and become one.

This album was recorded in the old Onomoto Wooden Auditorium in Nishiaizu, the mountain region of Fukushima. Inside this unique, wooden architecture with its rich resonance, a single old piano – originally purchased with money collected by the local children – has remained standing for over 70 years. It is by no means a perfect instrument, but its imperfection is the very embodiment of the time and history lived in this space. Tomoo Nagai plays on self-crafted percussion instruments, some of which were born from gathered pieces of wood and stone from the area. These are not polished sounds, but sounds that carry the memory of the land.

The album also features compositions written by Makiko Hirabayashi immediately after the 2011Fukushima earthquake, as well as echoes of instruments passed down to Tomoo from a victim who tragically lost his life in the tsunami. The music has been captured with clarity and authenticity by Katsunori Fukuoka, making the listening experience both intimate and moving.