Jazz

Kotaro Oshio - Eternal Chain (2009)

2015-01-09T16:49:07Z

Kotaro Oshio - Eternal Chain (2009)


1 	Prelude -sunrise-
2 	Landscape
3 	Road Goes On
4 	Always
5 	Interlude -forestbeat-
6 	Snappy!
7 	Tabi no Tochu	(旅の途中)
8 	Interlude -sunshine-
9 	Rakuen		(楽園)
10 	Nichiyobi no Beer	(日曜日のビール)
11 	Believe
12 	Interlude -starlight-
13 	Kizuna		(絆)
14 	Earth Angel
15 	Hapiness	(ハピネス)
16 	Coda –sunset

Kotaro Oshio – guitar

Well, I guess it was just over a year ago that we covered Tussie mussie, Oshio’s first cover album of pop standards that I got a huge kick out of. While Eternal Chain was released shortly thereafter in August of 2009, it marks our third review and his third full-length album release in the period of a single year. That’s pretty impressive, and it’s all quality work.

For those who missed out on our reviews of You & Me and Tussie mussie, Kotaro Oshio is one of Japan’s most well-known guitarist, working magic with just an acoustic guitar and his fingers. While you’d categorize his music as mainly “easy listening,” there are certainly some melodies that will have you humming along and even bopping your head as you progress through his latest outing.

Oshio breaks Eternal Chain up into individual sections separated by brief interludes. Aside from with minute-long “Prelude ~sunrise~,” that works you into the album with dreamy arpeggios, “Interlude ~frostbeat~” features bass notes and rhythmic slaps to create an almost funky electronic sound, while “Interlude ~starlight~” acts as a gentle lullaby.

Getting into the album proper, the first track, “Landscape,” is a powerful and vibrant piece with a great bass line, deliberate tapping, and an exotic Spanish flair. It would make a great overworld theme with its catchy melody and “fullness” despite being performed on a solo guitar. “Always,” on the other hand, is one of my favorites on the album with its distinctly laid back lounge vibe and call-and-response melody. It also works in some lovely Spanish elements, coming off as exceptionally beautiful during the bridge section. You can see a random guy on YouTube performing his version of the song below. Is it just me, or does it kind of sound like Faxanadu?

“Snappy!” is a fitting title for this overwhelmingly upbeat tune that leans more towards blues with its soulful melody, although the occasional rhythmic clapping (not tapping on the guitar) caught me by surprise. Still, it lends the track a playful edge. “旅の途中” gets me into more familiar territory with a sweet pop sound that is reminiscent of his arrangements from Tussie mussie, while “Paradise” takes a similar approach, reminding me of a drastically slower version of “Wind Garden” from Super Mario Galaxy with its “blustery” feel and familiar note progressions. Later, “Believe” plods along without a hurry in the world, letting you soak up its bright melody while “Bond” is one of those tracks that will have you bopping your head along with its catchy melody and perfectly time tapping.

Taking a break, “Sunday’s Beer” stands out for sounding like an actual solo guitar track. Oshio fleshes out so much of his work with complicated melodies, added bass notes, and tapping that it’s hard to remember that this is all being done with a single instrument at times. The minimalistic approach on this track gives it a soothing atmosphere, although the melody is appropriately playful. “Happy News” is equally carefree, progressing with a high-pitched melody that is fitting of the track title. “Earth Angel” takes this minimalistic approach to the max, coming off as meditative with its heavy use of reverb. It certainly has a therapeutic quality about it. On that note, The album closes out with “Coda ~sunset~,” returning to where the album began with dreamy arpeggios and that attempt to lull you to sleep.

And there you have another amazing journey into the world of acoustic guitar from Kotaro Oshio. This is a great album for relaxing on that day off from work, lazily sitting at home. It’s also pretty good at soothing that road rage on the crazy California highways. I also dig the packaging. Lots of blue and green colors contrasts nicely with the white, and the jewel case comes housed in a sturdy cardboard sleeve. --- Jayson Napolitano, originalsoundversion.com

download (mp3 @320 kbs):

uploaded yandex 4shared mega solidfiles zalivalka cloudmailru filecloudio oboom clicknupload

back

Kotaro Oshio - Hand To Hand [2011]

2012-04-17T16:35:46Z

Kotaro Oshio - Hand To Hand [2011]


1. BRAND NEW WINGS
2. HEART BEAT!
3. JET
4. NAYUTA
5. GOOD TIMES
6. MOTTO TSUYOKU
7. YOKAN
8. LITTLE PRAYER
9. GO AHEAD
10. AME AGARI
11. TENOHIRA
12. KUSABUE
13. OVER DRIVE
14. FLY TO THE DREAM
15. MATA ASHITA.

Kotaro Oshio was born in Osaka, Japan on February 1st, 1968. While there are many solo guitar players who play nylon-string guitar, Oshio took the challenge of mastering a steel-string acoustic guitar in a highly unique style. It was Oshio’s strong desire to bring out the maximum capacity of an acoustic guitar that impelled him to boldly employ various techniques such as open tuning and tapping. Oshio artfully infuses those inventive techniques into the emotional core of each of the songs on “STARTING POINT” - rather than overpowering, Oshio's astonishing technique enhances his lyrical interpretations. From the whimsical to the bittersweet, Oshio brings science and poetry into perfect harmony.

Listening to his music for the first time, one would think there are a number of different musicians performing together in a room - but in reality, it’s just Oshio alone that does absolutely everything on one acoustic guitar. His music is full of emotions backed with state-of-the-art technique, often treated with percussive arrangement. Oshio not only performs self-penned original tunes, but he also covers great music of various fields, from movie themes to animation themes to nursery rhymes to school songs.

It was in December 1999 that Oshio recorded an album on his own as an indie effort. The album gradually caught people’s ears in Osaka area, leading him to release the second indie album in March 2001. “Blue sky” from the second album was selected the theme music on a TV talk show, and his music was introduced to the general public on various TV/radio programs and magazines. A two-hour special program on Oshio was also aired on nationwide cable radio networks around that time.

Oshio also made a stunning debut at the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival in July 2002. Not only did he amaze the audience with his solo performance, but he was also invited to the jam session with BB King in the main hall, where everyone was talking about “that incredible Japanese guitarist”!

July 2002 saw the release of Oshio’s first major-label album “STARTING POINT” which includes his original tunes, covers of movie themes and a track that he has composed for a movie for the first time. “STARTING POINT” portrays a musician’s pure love for music and one extreme example of what acoustic guitar is capable of offering.

The talent of the guitarist was soon recognized by the national TV station NHK for whom Oshio wrote and recorded the original main theme "Kaze no Kanata" for the documentary series that NHK produced about the Antarctica in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the station's founding.

While constantly keeping himself busy with live dates all over Japan, the second album "Dramatic" was released in June 2003. Living up to everyone's expectation, "Dramatic" debuted on the national sales chart at #24, quite remarkable for an instrumental album. Various tracks from the album were selected the theme music on different TV/radio programs.

"Dramatic" further showcases Oshio's creativity as a songwriter, and also his rendition of the famous classical pieces "Canon" and "Bolero", the latter of which was later placed in the soundbed of the TV campaign for a revitalizing drink in Japan. His promotion activities included interviews with Tuck ＆ Patty and Pat Metheny.

Oshio returned to Montreux Jazz Festival in July 2003 to fascinate more crowds. The Jazz Club located just outside the main Stravinski Hall was nearly 'dominated' by the solo guitarist who performed there for the last three nights of the festival. Oshio also opened the main stage on the last night for ZZ Top and one of the top Swiss rock bands Krokus. It was on one of the nights when Oshio was asked to perform a few songs each for Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders) and Cassandra Wilson personally in the dressing room, receiving extremely high praise. The fact that the Festival has not invited an artist two years in a row except for very few selected jazz/blues giants also shows the level of the potential that people find in Oshio.

After another round of Japan tour and various collaborations with other musicians, Oshio's 3rd album "Be HAPPY" hits streets on June 23rd, 2004 in Japan. The album is again full of beautiful melodies and percussive rhythms, all generated on one guitar, and most of the tracks are familiar to people's ears through TV commercials. TV program themes and movie. For a wider range dynamics, he adopted baritone guitar on "Fight!", in addition to his usual selection of guitars.

Twice at Montreux Jazz Festival was just not enough to satisfy Oshio's desire as a live performer. In love with the beautiful site and people, he's returning to the festival once again in July 2004, for three years in a row. ---kotaro-oshio.com

download (mp3 @320 kbs):

ziddu uploaded yandex 4shared mega solidfiles zalivalka cloudmailru filecloudio oboom

back

Kotaro Oshio ‎– Blue Sky (2006)

2019-03-30T16:13:14Z

Kotaro Oshio ‎– Blue Sky (2006)


1 	Blue Sky 	
2 	Hard Rain 	
3 	Fantasy 	
4 	桜・咲くころ (When Cherry Blossoms Bloom) 	
5 	Splash 	
6 	翼～You Are The Hero～ (Wings) 	
7 	Departure 	
8 	ハッピー・アイランド (Happy Island) 	
9 	Chaser 	
10 	ボレロ (Bolero) 	
11 	カノン (Canon) 	
12 	Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence 	
13 	オアシス (Oasis) 	
14 	風の彼方 / 松尾葉子 (Beyond the Wind / Yoko Matsuo) 	
15 	ラスト・クリスマス (Last Christmas) 	
16 	Friend

Kotaro Oshio - guitar

Blue Sky, a greatest-hits compilation from guitarist Kotaro Oshio, provides exactly what it promises: the best of his recorded output to that point. Oshio is well-known for his live covers, reworked as classical/jazz masterpieces, but those are largely absent from the compilation. In their stead are a number of his hits from his previous five albums. Although released independently, the title track was his breakout hit. "Departure," from the Panorama album, and "Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence" from his first major-label release, Starting Point, are also here. So are blues bits and Spanish-inspired pieces from later albums. The span of Oshio's career is well-covered by Blue Sky, and should provoke further exploration into Oshio's works. ---Adam Greenberg, AllMusic Review

download (mp3 @192 kbs):

yandex mediafire ulozto gett bayfiles

back