Masayoshi Fujita is back with a new album, Bird Ambience, on Erased Tapes.

Bird Ambience brings several fresh changes for the Japanese composer. Until now, he has separated his acoustic solo recordings, the electronic dub made under his El Fog alias, and his experimental improvisations with contemporaries such as Jan Jelinek—but on Bird Ambience, he unites all these different facets.

He also makes a leap from his signature vibraphone, on which he created his three previous albums—Stories (2012), Apologues (2015), and Book of Life (2018)—to the marimba, which takes centre stage alongside drums, percussion, synths, effects, and tape recorder.

We’re told that the “unhurried pace” of Bird Ambience “allows each sound and phrase enough time to be mindfully absorbed and savoured,” and that it carries the ethereal remnants of Midori Takada’s minimalism, the static atmospheres of Mika Vainio, To Rococo Rot’s organics, and the bucolic electronics of Minotaur Shock.

Ahead of the release, Fujita has shared lead single “Thunder,” which blends mildly abrasive effects on the marimba with a warm feeling. It’s inspired by the poem “You Will Hear Thunder” by Anna Akhmatova, and it comes with a video directed by Ryo Noda in the mountain-scapes that surround Fujita’s new life in Hyogo, rural Japan.

Tracklisting

01. Bird Ambience
02. Thunder
03. Anakreon
04. Cumulonimbus Dream
05. Gaia
06. Noise Marimba Tape
07. Morocco
08. Miyama No Kitsune
09. Nord Ambient
10. Stellar
11. Pons
12. Fabric

Bird Ambience LP is scheduled for May 28 on Erased Tapes. Meanwhile, you can stream “Thunder” in full below and pre-order here.