Article
【CD review】R,R,R
by Andy Hamilton
Published in 419 of The Wire ( 2018 December)
40 minutes of spare.haunting solo acoustic guitar. recorded at Tokyo’s new music hub Ftarri Born in 1984 Masubuchi began playing electric guitar in rock groups. but now focuses on acoustic.
He says his major influences are prewar blues - Son House. Bukka White - and Morton Feldman.a rare combination. Other influences are post - 1990s Japanese Improv - onkyo or “making sounds with things” by the likes of Taku Sugimoto.
Extended techniques and timbral variation aren’t in the mix.and any bluesiness is deep buried. At the risk of cliche. I’d say there’s a Zen ethos.chords and slow single lines are picked out with intensity.at varying dynamics. Although the style is sturdy and individual.the playing remains enigmatic - a factor here being it’s referencing of traditional techniques in a contemporary framework.
Masubuchi is clearly a deep musician.