Japanese artist Rintaro Mikami released his first name entitled First Fish. The themes are life, adventure and love.
The music is Jazz. The album has a mix of old-fashioned/classic and modern Jazz. The compositions are dynamic – Rintaro Mikami did excellent work as a composer. He’s also a drummer, percussionist and Canopus drums player. Listening to the record feels like a “musical painting,” full of beautiful colours. The musicians David Truilo (tenor sax), Omri Bar Giora (guitar), Henry Plotnick (piano), and Bar Filipowicz (bass) are phenomenal throughout the album. Harmonica player Ariel Bart added a unique musical touch to the piece Deer’s Dream.
The album has slow, calming Jazz songs. The First example is Arrival, a lovely introduction. It has beautiful traditional sounds of Japanese music with the guitar, played by Omri Bar Giora that nicely blends with the piano. The song First Fish (feat. Lily Resnikoff) has a smooth, wavy rhythm that reminds me of the sea. The Sky He Saw has a relaxing, meditation vibe with an incredible tenor sax, played by David Truilo. The interlude A Stone Flows To is a smooth transition for the rest of the album.
Two pieces combine fast and slow rhythms, done in a perfectly balanced fashion. The Whistle has a sweet, romantic vibe. The guitar in this tune has an impressive gradient rhythm to switch to incredible percussion beats. Deer’s Dream (featuring guest harmonica player Ariel Bart) has a fantastic combination of fast and slow rhythms. The piece Interlaken starts slow and then changes to modern jazz beats. The piano, played by Henry Plotnick, in this tune is remarkable. The music is upbeat and cheerful.
There are also songs with fantastic, fast beats and rhythms. Derailing has an incredible old-school jazz beat. It feels like Jazz heard in old black-and-white movies from the 30s/40s. The song Secession has a city/walk-in-the-town vibe. It has a fusion of American Jazz and traditional Japanese music. It’s a perfect blend. It slows down in the end, parallels the rhythmic style of Bohemian Rhapsody.
The music of each song has a rich, vibrant sound. The compositions have a phenomenal blend of musical styles.
Rintaro Mikami’s voice in the song Arrival has the spoken word style in Japanese- he sounds calm. Another vocal piece is First Fish, performed by Lily Resnikoff. She sings with heart and soul.
Two songs have lyrics with deep significance. The first song is Arrival, where Rintaro Mikami says something in Japanese. From the tone, it sounds like a moment of self-reflection. First Fish (feat. Lily Resnikoff) is a touching and profound song about the blurry lines between dream and reality, as mentioned in my article First Single Fridays: Rintaro Mikami – First Fish. The poetry of this song is captivating. It also celebrates the natural world and its wonder. It captures the imagination of listeners with the abstract content. The words are rich in language and layers of meaning.
The album First Fish is available.
