I believe cinema can exist entirely in sound, and “For Shirasu” is a good reminder of why. The track creates images without needing to show me anything, building a calm world around delicate guitar, unusual textures and a gentle Japanese rhythmic foundation. It is kind of playful and that was unexpected to me. The subject is grief, but the music doesn’t seem interested in making grief heavier than it already is. There is light in the composition, and that light gives the piece somewhere to breathe.
The electro-acoustic details are constantly giving the ear something small to discover. The guitar remains delicate whilst the surrounding sounds add colour and movement, creating a remarkably rich piece without turning it into an overcrowded production. There is a great deal of compositional intelligence here, but I never feel as though I’m being shown off to. The music exists comfortably on its own terms, which I find increasingly refreshing at a time when so much sound is designed around machines predicting what we are supposed to enjoy.
Makoto Kubota‘s voice becomes the centre of this little universe. I don’t understand a single word, yet the delivery communicates something immediately through its timbre and cadence. There is a mysterious, almost shamanistic quality to it, and that unfamiliarity actually makes me listen more closely. Rather than needing to understand the language, I can follow the emotional shape of the performance. That’s one of those moments when music reminds me why words aren’t always necessary for communication.
About Deniz Cuylan:
Deniz Cuylan has spent more than two decades moving between progressive jazz, indie electronics, classical instrumentation and work for film and television, and that broad experience is easy to hear in the way he approaches composition. His forthcoming album “For Luca” grew from the loss of his dog Luca and became a collaborative work about grief, love and our relationship with other living beings. “For Shirasu” began with Makoto Kubota sharing the story of his late cat, and that meeting eventually became the starting point for the album itself. There is something fitting about such a personal story producing music that feels so open to whoever happens to find it. I love when real music makes its way towards me.
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