| < Yūjō - with Suishou No Fune, Sean P Connaughty, and Comets Ov Cupid > Released on May 17, 2025 digital |
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 1. The Story Unfolds 2. Abby 3. Voyage 4. The Living Moan 5. Slow Waves 6. The wind is blowing Performers guitar, harmonica, bells, voice. Kurenai Pirako guitar, Kageo bass, Matsueda Hideo percussion, Harada Jun guitar, Comets Ov Cupid guitar, broken violin, voice Sean P Connaught Recording Dates May 18, 2008 and June 10, 2012 |
The sessions of Minneapolis friends Sean P Connaughty and Comets Ov Cupid and Crystal Boat have been digitally released. It is deeply moving to have music with friends in faraway places cross over time to be released. You can listen to it on each digital platform, so please enjoy it. (SUISHOU NO FUNE, Kurenai Pirako) In memory of Jun Harada, Matt Zaun, and Abby the dog, now deceased. (SUISHOU NO FUNE, Kageo) 友情 (Yūjō): A Minneapolis-Tokyo Improvisational Blend. A collaboration between Suishou No Fune, Sean P Connaughty and Comets Ov Cupid yielding this unique sonic tapestry. Recorded live in two Minneapolis sessions – May 18, 2008 and June 10, 2012. Chill, meditative, These recordings occurred during times when Suishou No Fune came to visit Minneapolis while they were on tour. We all played super quiet and chill. At times you can hear the squeak of a chair or a mumbled word. I like the way it sounds both close and distant like sounds reaching you from across the ocean. It was such a memorable experience for me and I love what we created. Even though it was well over a decade ago it seems important to share it with the public now. I was so honored to play with such accomplished musicians. Everyone in the session was listening as much as they were playing. These are long form improvisations. Some tracks are instrumental while other tracks have improvised vocals by both Pirako and myself (Sean). Some of the vocals are in English and some are in Japanese. I think it's fortuitous how these improvisers ended up coming together from so far apart. I appreciate how well the musicians merged together. I love the varied and vivid themes that emerged. The vibe of the album is overall very chill and meditative. To me the songs are a voyage on the Sea, a dream journey, prayers for lost loved ones, elliptical and poetic reminiscences across time. It is simultaneously playful, pensive, and solemn. I was delighted to notice the sound of our recently deceased dog Abby barking on the recording! Abby barks at the beginning of the track titled “Abby” named in her honor. Abby was a point of connection for us all at the time and helped bridge the language barrier. The album cover was designed by me recently and is a picture of one of my concrete floats from 2012. My basement studio was at the time host to a living ecosystem (2012) I was experimenting with living ecosystems and floating biospheres. Jason came up with the idea of using the Japanese word for friendship as the title for the album. 友情 Yūjō (friendship) I think that captures the spirit nicely. Plus the kanji is beautiful. Love and friendship is the medicine we need in these times. I sincerely hope you will enjoy these recordings as much as I have. Thank you for supporting all of these great artists! Sean P Connaughty 4/17/2025 |
This work is only available digitally. You can purchase it from the following website. YouTube Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/5wf0sQNQBqxJYdJvErDQ9o AppleMusic: https://music.lnk.to/xYwty0 |
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