Awesomesauce Q&A


satosii

by annbssept 17, 2021

byebyefish pic

When the world is full of distractions and noise, satosii prefers to find peace with nature and complement it with relaxing tunes. A musician and talent like him is the balance in Indiedom's grungy and aggressive era. His themes are focused on jazz, chill vibes, and inspirational mood. Upon my invitation, satosii agreed to answer some from my list of prepped musical questions, which I am excited to share with you: 

Briefly introduce yourself:

"Hello Ann. Thank you for giving me this opportunity. It's an honor to be part of your lovely website. I started with music little by little. When I was little, my parents let me listen to a lot of records. When I was a teenager, I wanted to be a poet. I used to write my lyrics and songs. I was scouted in a record shop in Shibuya and went to a music agency, but I didn't dare to go any further with my music career. At school, I majored in design. I drew my pictures, listened to a lot of music, and liked to watch drawings and films. Sometimes I travel back in time with visuals and music.  Today I am an independent artist making instrumental music in Japan. I make music at my own pace and with my melodies."

Share your favorite quote or epiphany as a musician.

"There is a Japanese word for 静寂 (sei-jyaku: Similar words to Silence ).  It is a word that I have been living with for a long time, feel a longing for it.  My epiphany is that everything that is alive returns to nature. The senses and the mind always feel the presence of nature."

How do you organize your thoughts and come up with great tracks?

"First of all, I have to sleep regularly. lol!  It is important to feel healthy. In life, the mind moves in different ways, I may encounter melodies and ideas. Sometimes I dream about my melodies. Sometimes repeats in my mind. I write songs about the melody that sticks in my head. I like to organize my thoughts. Images, drafts, notes. I make detailed notes and choose the ones that match. That a lot of pages, like a novel. lol

Sometimes, when I meet good music, the inspiration for a song comes to me. It is how the song Nine came about. Ambling is a free-form guitar play. When I find the right tone, it can happen very rarely. It's a pleasure to hear a happy guitar."

What exactly do you like about making music?

"It's where I can put my own emotions. What I'm making is instrumental, so the sounds are paired with the sounds, they come together, and sometimes the sounds are removed. It's the Japanese Zen spirit of removing. There's a lot of drama in songwriting... sounds start to move on their own.  There's a lot of reviewing and reworking. There's a lot to learn. I'm always looking for my style. I love it when people put me on their playlists and listen to my songs in different mixes."

- Zen is absolutely cool! -- Ann

What instrument/s do you play?

"Melodies and beats. I also like coffee bags and old tree branches. I like the smell flavor with the sound. I also want to convey the beauty of Japan. The song Breath, I walked around Shinjuku park with the microphone open for about 15 minutes and recorded it. I also like to record human noise in the city, which I don't do much of these days. (ex. SHIBUYA Sound-Track) I learned this from a senior musician I like. Also, AmaOto made most of the sounds with the iPhone and iPad. I am good to play with my iPhone connected to a MIDI device. It doesn't matter where I am, making music anywhere, as long as I can record it. Gadgets are evolving at a fantastic rate. I feel that there are endless possibilities in music-making."

What or who made you pick up and learn your favorite musical instrument/s?

"I started masking music after a relative gave me Macbook. I started using a DAW after watching YouTube. I felt that DAW was a good match for me."

If you are not making music, what are your other interesting diversions? 

"I might suddenly become a writer."

Have you done interesting, weird quirks in the name of the music? 

"I played a few of my songs in the piano department. Some kids loved it, I felt a bit better."

Name your top 3 most favorite tracks from your discography. (Please elaborate on each.)

"1. Signal A - This song is the beginning of my composition. The sound of the guitar was an accident, it turned out to be a good groove, so I decided to present it first. I like the simple sound of the guitar.

2. Summer Pool - I came up with this melody in the swimming pool during the summer holidays. Float on the water. I forgot because I couldn't record it. I remembered it in the middle of the night and did my best to make it sound. When I listen to this song, I can vividly remember all the happy scenes of summer.

3. Ambling - I wrote this song in a few days, at the beginning of 2021. It's a song about facing up to a situation, even if I have an infectious disease, and how to live at walking speed. It's also a song that I wrote with a renewed awareness of the aftermath.

…I also love the song working on at the moment, Nostalgia. Please have a listen to it when it's released!"

BONUS Q: What one word best describes you as a musician?

"Thanks for the great question. satosii is my name. In Japanese, my name means to listen to everything. I want to listen to sound well, listen to Ann's advice, and keep playing music. Lol!"

-o0o-

Listen to satosii's popular tracks on SPOTIFY

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