A new album of Japanese-inspired music from the cross-cultural ensemble Shonorities will be released by Métier Records later this year. Shonorities, created by Greek composer Basil Athanasiadis, is a diverse group of performers and composers committed to promoting a range of repertoire that encompasses a wide spectrum of musical styles including old, contemporary and traditional pieces. By blending a variety of musical cultures, Shonorities aims to show the potential for cross-cultural collaboration in contemporary music.

Shonorities’ past projects feature works for a variety of instrumental combinations including female voice and traditional Japanese instruments supported by organisations such as the Japan Foundation, Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, Sawakawa Foundation, Japanese Embassy in Greece, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, British Council and the Greek-Japanese Association.

Greek composer Basil Athanasiadis moved to London to complete his studies. He is the only composer to date to twice receive the prestigious JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship Award (2010-11 and 2011-13). During that period Basil was based at the Tokyo University of the Arts as a Special Foreign Researcher, where he composed new works for Western and Japanese instruments with a particular interest on the shō (mouth organ) and the 20-stringed koto.

The group’s first album of music by Athanasiadis (‘Soft Light’ Métier MSV 28584) appeared in April 2018: “Music that hues closely to a Japanese aesthetic based on simplicity of utterance and purity of expression… absolutely intriguing and immensely satisfying.”  (Music Notes)

The new album includes a fascinating mix of sounds including a rare appearance in art music of a solo Rhodes piano – an instrument normally found in jazz ensembles – as well as traditional western and Japanese instruments.

Book of Dreams (Métier MSV 28596)

Composer: Basil Athanasiadis

Artists: Shonorities: Shie Shoji (voice), Keiko Hisamoto (koto), Naomi Sato (shō), Lin Lin (alto flute), Nao Tohara (violin), Basil Athanasiadis (piano, Rhodes, percussion)
Guest artists: Noah Max (conductor), Elena Abad Martinez (violin 1), Chloë Meade (violin 2), Daichi Yoshimura (viola), Henry Hargreaves (cello)

Recording dates:  31 October 2017 (Orpington, Kent); 29 September 2018 (Goldsmiths Studio, London); 23-24 February 2019 (Studio A, Tokyo University of the Arts)

Works

• Book of Dreams II (for alto flute and string quartet)
• Five Pieces (for female voice and prepared piano)
• Interlude (for solo piano)
• Dream of a Butterfly II (for solo Rhodes)
• Eyes are now Dim (female voice, violin, shō, koto)

Technicals

Microphones: Neuman U87, KM 83, AKG 414, DPA4006, DPA4011, CMC68, CMC64, CMC621, C414, R121
Mixing console: Calrec S2, adt SRC51
Monitor speakers: ATC SCM 20, musikelectronic geithain RL901K, Genelec 8050B
Microphone pre-amplifiers, A/D converters: Millennia HV-35/Avid HD interface, DAD AX32