Disappointment-Hateruma

Description

Wewantsounds is pleased to announce the first reissue of *Disappointment–Hateruma*, an album by percussionist Toshi Tsuchitori and Ryuichi Sakamoto, originally released in 1976 on ALM Records. The album is Sakamoto's first recording under his own name and represents one of the rare occasions when the musician ventured into improvised music during the 1970s. This edition features the album's original artwork with audio remastered by Heba Kadry and new liner notes by Andy Beta. Ryuichi Sakamoto is one of the most important and internationally renowned artists of his generation. At the time of recording *Disappointment–Hateruma*, he was still a student at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and active in Tokyo's experimental music circles, collaborating with musicians who were pushing the boundaries of jazz, improvisation, and contemporary composition. Meanwhile, Japanese percussionist Toshi Tsuchitori, freshly returned from New York after meeting Milford Graves, brought influences from their collaboration, particularly regarding African rhythms, ritualized performances, and a holistic vision blending music, movement, and philosophy. As Andy Beta highlights in his text, Sakamoto sought to "break the traditional form of music, to dismantle the narrow boundaries of contemporary music," and this recording captures one of the rare studio moments where his exploratory piano meets Tsuchitori's distinct rhythmic language. The recordings deploy a wide palette of textures—prepared piano, bells, marimba, gongs, EMS synthesizer, and voice—creating hypnotic and ethereal soundscapes often leaning towards ambient, showcasing the interaction between Sakamoto's experimental playing and Tsuchitori's inventiveness. Remastered in New York by renowned sound engineer Heba Kadry, this reissue of the ultra-rare *Disappointment–Hateruma*—bringing to light the details, depth, and clarity of the original album—is a major event for Sakamoto fans. The album is also an essential document of Sakamoto's early career, placing these recordings in the broader context of the initial years of his musical journey within Tokyo's 1970s avant-garde music scene.