New Horizon
| New Horizon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Album by Tak Matsumoto | |
| Released | April 30, 2014  2014  |
| Genre | Instrumental, Rock, Jazz |
| Label | Vermillion Records House Of Strings (Japan) 335 Records (International) |
| Producer | Tak Matsumoto |
New Horizon is the tenth studio album by Tak Matsumoto, set to be released on April 30, 2014. As with Tak's previous album Strings Of My Soul, the album is also scheduled for an international release at a later date and will again be produced by Tak alongside 335 Records' Paul Brown. The cover of the album and various promotional materials feature Tak's new signature Gibson Firebird guitar. As with Tak's previous work, the track listing features an all-new vocal song in addition to its variety of instrumental offerings with American soul singer Wendy Moten as a guest performer.
In a promotional campaign offer announced on April 18, 2014, it was revealed that copies of the album would come packaged with a special card that could be redeemed to earn a chance to win one of 300 specially-pressed vinyl editions of the album.
The album will be supported by his first true solo tour, Tak Matsumoto LIVE 2014 -New Horizon-. The tour, which will tour from May to June of 2014, is Tak's first true solo tour and will feature new and old support members for the shows, including Yoshinobu Ohga, who has worked with both Tak in his solo efforts as well as numerous recent B'z live outings.
Production and information
According to an interview in Be With! Volume 101, work on the songs that would eventually find their way onto the album began sometime in 2012. However, due to commitments stemming from the 25th anniversary for B'z and the subsequent tour, Tak put the album on hold temporarily. While the work's songs were composed over a period of roughly two years, actual production on the album began in December 2013 and was completed quickly in only a matter of months.
Tak explored a great number of ideas for the album. Initially, he wasn't sure what type of tracks to include on the work, as recounted in Be With!:
| “ | "Be it self-composed songs or cover songs, I tried out a lot of ideas, but they were lacking my personal sense of direction—where I wanted to go with it. I really pondered over it for quite a while until our 25th anniversary came up, but I thought I'd consider it more while on the road. By the time the 25th anniversary tour ended, I still hadn't come to a decision. After November's EX THEATER ROPPONGI show, I went back into the studio and thought I'd give up on it for the time being if I didn't come up with something. I wondered about what I should do, so I tried getting the songs I'd come up with into shape and, if I couldn't bring everything together, I said to myself I would give up on it for now. | ” |
For the release, Tak hadn't considered a collaboration with another artist unlike in 2010 or with an orchestra as in 2004. This was a work he intended to begin a new chapter of his career after his previous album's retrospective status serving to allow him to move on to new endeavors. After the B'z tour finished and he was entirely free, Tak had a small window of time with which to decide how the project would go:
| “ | After the EX THEATER ROPPONGI show, it became about how much I could put together in two weeks. I was able to package everything together in such a way that I was content with going ahead with producing and recording the album. The schedule for the solo tour was already set, but I was thinking, "If I can't get this together now, we'll have to cancel everything." It was almost like if I couldn't get it all together in those two weeks in December, I would have to go to the office and tell everyone, "Maybe no solo project after all..." (laughs) | ” |
The release of the album was promoted prior to making it to store shelves in a number of different avenues, including television, internet coverage, magazine featurettes, and radio appearances. On April 21, Tak appeared on Tokyo FM to discuss the album and his career, during which album tracks "Gakuseigai no Kissaten", "New Horizon", and "Feel like a woman tonite" were previewed at length for the first time.
While no music videos were filmed for the release, two brief television commercials for "New Horizon" and "Rain" began airing in the weeks leading up to the album's release.
Track listing
All music composed by and guitar performed by Tak Matsumoto unless otherwise noted.
- New Horizon
- Brand new title song for the album that was used as the theme song for a series of Sagawa Express television commercials.
- Take 5
- An updated cover of the revered Jazz masterpiece previously covered by Tak on his very first studio album Thousand Wave in 1988.
- Feel like a woman tonite
- An all-new song featuring American soul singer Wendy Moten on vocals.
- Rodeo Blues
- Island of peace
- That's Cool
- Shattered Glass
- Tsuki no Akari — Light of the Moon, 月のあかり
- Cover of classic 1978 composition by Masahiro Kuwana.
- Reason to be...
- BLACK JACK
- A re-recording of a song Tak made in 2003 for the Japanese anime Black Jack, created for and featured in a special video release in the series.
- Gakuseigai no Kissaten — Student Village Cafe, 学生街の喫茶店
- Cover of 1972 song by threepiece acoustic rock band GARO.
- Rain
- The studio debut of the song performed as Tak's solo from B'z LIVE-GYM Pleasure 2013 -ENDLESS SUMMER-.
International Edition
As with Tak's previous solo album Strings Of My Soul in 2012, the album is again tentatively scheduled for an international release following the domestic Japanese launch. Paul Brown again produced the album and will oversee its western release.
Personnel
Credits apply to original Japanese track order
- Tak Matsumoto: Guitar, Music Composition (Tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12), Arrangement