TOMOYOSHI DATE - Piano Trilogy
Tomoyoshi Date, a physician and musician known for his releases on prominent ambient labels such as 12K (US), LAAPS (France), and QuietDetails (UK), will release his piano trilogy, created between 2021 and 2024, on November 8 via Bandcamp in a limited edition of 150 cassettes. He was awarded the German Record Critics' Award 2023 for his curation of Micro Ambient Music.
This trilogy includes 438Hz, As it is, As you are, released by LAAPS and selected as one of Bandcamp’s Best Ambient albums in January 2023; Tata, composed for Silver Gelatin’s exhibit at Tata in Koenji, Tokyo; and Requiem, a piece dedicated in memory of a close friend who passed away too soon. All three albums are packaged in special jackets featuring found photographs curated by Silverわ Gelatin and are being released simultaneously.
Created with the theme of “objects and the passage of time,” this trilogy is characterised by elongated, repetitive piano motifs, microsound elements, and organic electronics, aiming to blur the line between rhythm and melody. Recently, Date has been working on a world-first program that auto-generates pure-intonation music (youtube.com/@432hzmm). This trilogy serves as a culmination of Date’s past compositions in equal temperament.
Live
11.10 Germany Munich
Solo + Duo(w/Stephan Mathieu)
Lighting: Caro Mikalef
at Frameless
11.13 "Duet" Bill Seaman + Tomoyoshi Date from Quiet details Release
11.15 Germay Berlin
Dauw label night
w/ Midori Hirano, Stijn Hüwels & Tomoyoshi Date Duo
front act : Sorana Date (10 y/o)
at Galilärkirche
12.07 Jinbou-cho
ILLUHA Japan Last Performance “Good Luck Corey!”
ILLUHA one man show, 2 stage.
① “432Hz, As it is, As you are”
This album was recorded on an old DIAPASON piano that was passed down to Tomoyoshi Date from his aunt, the first person to notate shamisen music on a five-line staff. The piano was retuned to the pitch of one loosened peg (438Hz in 2022) for recording (As it is). On a discontinued 45 RPM record, listeners could adjust the pitch to their environment (As you are). For this release, the pitch has been adjusted to 432Hz, a frequency Date has recently been working with. As the music on cassette tape naturally degrades over time, its pitch will gradually drop. Between the unchanging digital version and the physical tape, an element of “time” emerges as an object in sound.
② “Tata”
Created as music for the Silver Gelatin exhibition (featuring antique books and curation) held at Gallery Tata in Koenji, Tokyo, in September 2023, this work incorporates sounds of antique clocks, the gallery’s floors, and aged objects and paper. Unlike Date’s previous works, this album forms a single, immersive story that takes listeners on a journey from entering the gallery to the underworld. The photographs used on the album covers are from the late Meiji to Taisho periods, discovered by Silver Gelatin and crafted during the early days of photographic technique. The identity of the photographers is unknown, and these works transcend historical value to reflect a deep, timeless beauty, displayed in the gallery as found photos. Tata is an homage to nameless people and their time.
③ “Requiem”
Death is an event that comes to all and will inevitably come to us as well. Is this phenomenon, which touches everyone, something to be shunned? Sorrow and pity arise from comparing ourselves with others.
On this earth, all waves of life swirl and cycle continuously. The life of each person is a unique world shaped by their experiences and feelings alone. A “good” or “bad” life is a judgment that exists only in relation to oneself or others. I believe death is simply a part of the “flow,” a moment to celebrate the joy of encountering the miracle of life. This requiem is not something negative; it was created through a positive intention for those who have departed. It is a tribute of blessing for those who, now free from the suffering caused by comparison, have embarked on their journey.
