Creativity and adversity often seem to dance together and the making of ‘Everis’, the upcoming album from Tokyo musician Yasuhiko Fukuzono (AKA aus), more than reinforces this notion. When his home was burgled the loss of a wealth of archive and work in progress forced Fukuzono to re-constitute the developing ideas for his next work as aus. Using snippets of salvaged material from scattered audio/video remains and field recordings on his phone, he began to reconnect with the melodies carried in his head, make meaning of these memories and move forward with new compositions. So from despair came inspiration, described by Fukuzono as an intention ‘… to show that lost memories exist everywhere, without themselves, and are connected to the present’.
With the release of ‘Everis’ through Lo Recordings and FLAU coming on 26th April, we will soon get to tune into the intriguing weave of electro-acoustic soundscapes that emerged from this experience. As a musician aus always seeks to blend, drawing together strands of classical, jazz, new age and electronica while adding the narrative with melody and found sounds. It’s music that both creates and fills space, inevitably drawing the listener in.
Early preview track ‘Landia’ certainly suggests that this latest, aus outing will continue with that same emotional intent. It’s a track which revolves elegantly on its own axis. Spinning around a tumbling synth line, stately electronic orchestration and a percussive almost trip-hop stroll, the layering is intricate and immaculate. From the sweetly looping children’s singing to the final synth string swoon ‘Landia’ brings that illusive warm glow.
Though Fukuzono is prolific as a producer, sound artist and curator of the renowned FLAU label, his releases as aus are rare. So another reason then not to let ‘Everis’ pass you by.
Pre-order your copy of ‘Everis’ by aus from Lo Recordings and from https://flau.bandcamp.com/album/everis
