{"product_id":"4582561402272","title":"Shiget Cherry Blossom Baby (Bonus Track) [ARTPL-225] Japan Music CD","description":"\u003cp\u003eProduct Description\u003cbr\u003e\nA living legend of Detroit! Japanese-American musician, DJ, co-founder of the Portage Garage Sounds label, and longtime Ghostly International artist, producer\/composer Zach Saginaw has completed his first new album since Shigeto's 2017 masterpiece, \"The New Monday\"! A stunning masterpiece paying homage to the traditions of electronic, jazz, R\u0026amp;B, and hip hop! Showcasing a band sound boldly and intentionally cultivated with trusted collaborators, this album features his signature fusion, paying homage to the traditions of electronic, jazz, R\u0026amp;B, and hip hop, more vibrant than ever before. Zach Saginaw and his group of guests and players present a snapshot of self-love and vitality, rooted in Detroit and learned from his family's cultural history. \"I am a baby cherry blossom. We are all babies cherry blossoms. We are all resilient and growing.\" His middle name, Shigeto, inherited from his great-grandfather, means \"to grow.\" This is fitting given his premature birth weight of less than a pound, and it remains a fitting name for the evolution of his artistry nearly 15 years after signing with Ghostly. In \"Lineage\" (GI-148, 2012), Saginaw tackled the story of his ancestors. The artwork contrasts photographs taken in 1916 at his great-grandfather's home in Hiroshima with photographs taken at the Amache internment camp in Grenada, Colorado, where he and his family were later sent during World War II. Saginaw draws inspiration from the cherry blossom trees that bloom every spring in Hiroshima, an enduring image of hope, resilience, and rebirth. He has been searching for a long time. In recent years, as his nightlife career slowed down and he began to question his identity as a performer and a representative figure of Michigan, a simmering introspection surfaced. \"I wasn't seen as Japanese or white. I think Shiget was a means to an end for me, a means to create an identity I could cling to. That realization turned him inward, back to his skills and community, and laid the foundation for a record rising anew from the ashes. This sense of reaffirming himself, momentum, and maturity is evident in this work, where Saginaw, as songwriter and producer, arranges ideas with Detroit's elite. Every track is a collaboration with vocalists and multiple instrumentalists, a tradition cultivated in his Portage Garage studio sessions. \"It's the first time I've written my own music and had players who make it even better... I couldn't have made it at this level without them.\" The production and mix are full-throwback quality, consciously referencing 70s and 80s psychedelic and jazz records, avoiding modern compression and adding more spacious dynamics. \"For the past decade, I've been playing old sounds, playing live with jazz bands and DJing with mentors like Dez Andres. Sonically, I wanted to make a record that sounds like there are multiple people in the studio. Saginaw's early signature track, 'Ready. Set. Flex,' takes off with the speed of the drums and bass. \"Ian's sound is unparalleled. I can't play jungle breaks like Ian, and I thought it would be so cool if another drummer played on this track.\" Over a break and rolling piano loop, there's Zelooperz, a member of Bruiser Brigade who's making a name for himself as a rapper (and Shigetou's partner in the 2017 project ZGTO), while Josef Deas (a Portage Garage alumnus) plays upright bass and Saginaw plays synthesizers, delivering a series of intelligent lines. \"The Punch\" is immersed in electro-boogie vibes. This crew jam features rising vocalist and musician KESSWA, with whom Shigetou has collaborated on past releases and a 2022 MOCAD Museum installation, and her smooth, soulful vocals grace half of Cherry's 10 tracks. Behind Kit, Saginaw provides percussive punches (also on synths and glockenspiel), surrounded by members who have formed his live band and the ensemble for 'Versions' (GI-340, 2019), including Ian Finkelstein, Dez Andres, and later Marcus Elliott. The spirit of collaboration that permeates Cherry Blossom Baby is expanding. Rapper Cleveland Thrasher delivers a raw bar on tracks like the hypnotic \"Runnup On'm\" with harpist Aya Simon, the trap\/breakbeat-driven \"BookaMagick,\" and the poppy groove of \"Nothing Simple\" with producer\/DJ Tammy Luckis. Guitarist Sasha Kasperko plays riffs on several tracks, giving the songs a loungey feel. Aya Simon returns to elevate \"Let's Talk\" to outer space. Her harp part symbolizes the natural evolution of Shigetou's sound. While he may have previously collaged string elements, he now surrenders to open space, letting everything flow organically. Developing the title's metaphor further, Shigetou is moving forward with those around him: \"Involving everyone and celebrating their contributions, along with the various musicians participating in this album, is part of the philosophy behind 'Sakura no Hana' (Cherry Blossom).\"\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"TOKYO JAPAN CD SHOP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53226908549429,"sku":"4582561402272","price":3900.0,"currency_code":"JPY","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1011\/5966\/5973\/files\/51g3Uh6QffL._AC.jpg?v=1785373211","url":"https:\/\/tokyojapancdshop.com\/products\/4582561402272","provider":"TOKYO JAPAN CD SHOP","version":"1.0","type":"link"}