Asakusa

“Asakusa” is a response to my first visit to Japan in February of 2023, staying in the Asakusa neighborhood of Tokyo, with its river and elevated highway and frenetically busy temple. I don’t know why I chose Asakusa for my first visit, but then again, why not? Knowing nothing about the layout of Tokyo, it made as much sense as anything for a place to start. The piece is composed first from field recordings from the area, arranged to form a narrative structure, then layered with acoustic/electric guitar and noise from a Landscape Stereo Fields device. Given that the base layer of field recordings is in discrete movements, the more conventionally musical elements follow this, making the piece more a suite of short chapters that form a whole than a single, durational piece, as I’m more typically prone toward. It captures, I think, some of the chilly brightness of late winter in that part of the city, heard through the naiveté of an enthusiastic, if somewhat exhausted, first-time visitor. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit briancshort.substack.com