Threads was recorded in a dormitory room in Japan, while I was studying abroad at the University of Tokyo. I had only a Casio keyboard, a portable 8-track sequencer (no editing functions!), a dubbing-deck boom box and a Radio Shack microphone at my disposal. Good fortune brought me a beat-up old folk guitar which I put to use on two tracks in the hands of my friend Oleg, a Russian fellow who was also studying in Tokyo and has since returned to Moscow. I also managed to secure some backing vocals from my friend Lisa who happened to be in Tokyo that year as well.

The album draws from the experiences I had while I was in Japan, and definitely has some Japanese influence in the music. It's a loosely focused concept album that takes as its theme the ties that hold people together even across the physical spans of space and time. Thus the title "Threads." Musically it was the first large-scale project that I attempted, and I must say that those who were expecting any degree of virtuosity were disappointed. Still, I think that the feelings and motivations behind the music are well illuminated in spite of the fact that the arrangements are limited and most of the sounds are synthesized. In that sense I consider the album a success. Of course I'm not exactly blessed with an objective viewpoint!

Hajime

Tokyo Moon

Lunatic Fringe

Sunrise in Matsushima

Gondo Street

Rainbows

The Farthest Smile

Bridges

Ties

Loose Ends

Lyric Page