Masahiro Takahashi teases spellbinding new album via the dreamy textures of 'Cloud Boat'

Japanese composer Masahiro Takahashi has announced the imminent arrival of his latest album, ‘Humid Sun’.

For the best part of a decade, Takahashi has been delivering elegantly crafted soundscapes that discreetly glide between ethereal abstraction and searingly humanist tones. Having moved to Toronto in 2020, he quickly became embedded in the local experimental music community, and the new album features collaborations with some of the city’s most inspired creators. His Tokyo roots are firmly represented, too, with Japanese artists Takao, YAMAAN, and H. Takahashi each invited to contribute to the album's seductive topography.

This collaborative approach is in stark contrast to Masahiro’s recent compositions, which tended towards solitary expression, with all but one title on ‘Humid Sun’ featuring contributions from guest performers. Recorded between January and August 2022, the aptly titled album basks in sunset hues, with tropically-charged textures and soul-soothing refrains effortlessly woven across kaleidoscopic horizons. "I communicated with the musicians and tried different directions in improvisation," says Takahashi. "We recorded three takes for each instrument. I took the recordings back to my home studio, listened to them repeatedly, edited them in my DAW, applied effects, and arranged them."

The music arrives via Toronto-based label, Telephone Explosion, following on from their recent re-issue of Takahashi’s ‘Flowering Tree, Distant Moon’ tape last year.

You can listen to the dream-inducing waves of ‘Cloud Boat’, the album’s lead single, below:

Masahiro Takahashi's ‘Humid Sun’ is out March 31 via Telephone Explosion. You can pre-order it here

Patrizio Cavaliere is Mixmag Asia’s Music Editor. Follow him on Instagram