Akira Kosemura

88 Keys

$16.00

Akira Kosemura releases a new album “88 Keys”.
This album is compiled with the piano solo musical pieces composed and recorded in his private studio during stay home period.
It’s his first attempt to produce a piano solo album with the well-composed music sketches, a different approach from his improvisational piano solo albums released in the past, “Polaroid Piano” (2009) and “One Day” (2016). Due to the pandemic, he was enforced to suspend the work which he had been developing and idea for past few years, and this situation made him to start producing this piano solo album.
In the spring of 2020 when the government declared a state of emergency, this album started out as a respond to his impulsive desire to creating music. A unique and original fourteen music sketches in this album are beautifully written and performed by him with a gentle manner.
The current situation which no one had expected has given a birth to these peaceful piano music, as if a light dropping to the changing world as a sunshine filtering through branches of trees.

All Music Composed, Arranged and Performed by Akira Kosemura
Recording Engineer: Akira Kosemura
Album Mixed by Shunroku Hitani
Album Mastered by Zino Mikorey
Album Produced by Akira Kosemura
Piano Technician: Yasuaki Kubota
Photographs, Art Direction and Design: Shin Kikuchi
Production Management: SCHOLE INC.
Special Thanks to: David Wenngren, Jenn Ravenna, Arbel Bedak, My Family, Wife and Son.
© 2021 1631 Recordings
℗ 2021 Schole Records

Akira Kosemura (he/him) is a composer and pianist hailing from Tokyo, Japan. He is a prolific artist, constantly releasing solo albums and composing music for films, TV drama, games, stage, and commercial music.
Akira founded his own label Schole Records early on after his solo album It's on Everything released in 2007 while he was still in school. In 2017 and 2018 Akira's music was ranked in Spotify's "Most Played Japanese Artists/Songs Top 10", and his works have been highly acclaimed on media around the world, including US music media Pitchfork, Australian newspaper THE AGE, French public broadcast FIP, and Canadian public broadcast Ici Musique.
Akira's major score works include Fragments of The Last Will by Takahisa Zeze, the Cannes 2020 featured film True Mothers (Asa Ga Kuru) directed by Naomi Kawase, Hollywood produced drama series Love Is__, the Nintendo Switch game Jack Jeanne produced by Sui Ishida, the TBS drama series Chugakusei Nikki, the contemporary ballet piece MANON, and the Japan Pavilion in Milano EXPO. His music pieces were also featured in the Amazon original movie Jonas Brothers' CHASING HAPPINESS, the Venice Film Festival Golden Lion awarded director Audrey Diwan's debut film Mais vous etes fous (Losing It), and the Toho movie Omoi, Omoware, Furi, Furare.
In recent years, he has worked on projects in different media such as SK-II STUDIO's documentary The Center Lane (featuring Rikako Ikee), directed by Hirokazu Koreeda, the runway music for a collection from apparel brand TAKAHIROMIYASHITA The Soloist., as well as music for LA MER BLUE HEART, LAND ROVER, and L'OCCITANE. Akira has also co-produced a song with American musician Devendra Banhart.
In addition to his versatility and diverse portfolio, Akira has been working on a world scale. In 2022 he signed a contract with prestigious Decca Records, and the EP Pause (almost equal to) Play was released worldwide. Akira's music was also sampled in John Legend's song "The Other Ones feat. Rhapsody" included in his new album Legend Act I & II. And Akira's first major album SEASONS was released on Decca Records (UMG) on June 30, 2023.

“It feels impossible to get tired of, circumscribed and boundless at once.”
by Pitchfork

“Fantastic stuff.”
by Gilles Peterson

“Peaceful, evocative music”
by Fact Magazine