Tatsuhisa Yamamoto Ashiato

Tatsuhisa Yamamoto is a drummer from Yamaguchi, Japan, well known throughout the country for his work in Jazz, Improvisation, Rock, and more. He performed on the acclaimed Drag City records "The Dreams My Bones Dream" by Eiko Ishibashi, "Simple Songs" by Jim O'Rourke, and his wide interests have led him to be the drummer of choice for Free Jazz legend Akira Sakata. Yamamoto has also performed with Keiji Haino, Oren Ambarchi, and Phew among others. He has toured extensively throughout Europe and is also known in the world of theater for his work with the internationally renowned Japanese troupe "Mum & Gypsy." Recently, Yamamoto is actively releasing solo and collaborative electronic music and experimental works. Now, he's releasing two completely different albums born from the same concept, from two labels in two different countries. ashioto from "Black Truffle Records" a label run by Oren Ambarchi that has attracted much attention in the electronic, experimental, and improvised music scenes. And ashiato from "newhere Music" a Japanese electronic music label that's released work by Jim O'Rourke, the Japanese edition of an album by Phew & Ana da Silva (Raincoats), and more. "Music fans around the world might come across these two at a record store somewhere." In 2020, with the world cut off by distance, this simultaneous release from two labels in different lands and with different cultures teems with a playfulness for the enjoyment of music. The artwork for the two albums also incorporates a surprise you can discover when handling the records. What happens when you apply different directorial approaches to the same script at the same time? This was the impulse that set production of the albums in motion. In addition to playing drums and percussion Yamamoto also takes on electronics, synthesizer, piano, and field recordings to produce the entire work by rearranging the guest musician's superb improvisations. He is making a crucial leap from drummer to a musician with a strong will. Several keywords beat a path to this work: drone, ambient, improvisation, etc. But this music represents a world born from Yamamoto's unique fluency with sound dynamics and the acoustic and electronic in the context of live performance.