Description
grace is the debut album by haruka nakamura, released in 2008 on the schole label.
It was first released on vinyl in 2018 by fastcut records and sold out, but in response to popular demand, a long-awaited repress has been decided!
A1 “every day,” with its gentle nylon-string guitar and Janis Crunch’s lyrical vocals blending with subtle electronic sounds, is a fitting opening track for the start of her career. A2 “arne,” a signature track featuring a soothing, melancholic refrain created through sampling loops and beautiful guitar that permeates the heart, was directed as a music video by Yuyuki Okuyama. The album includes 13 tracks in total, including B5 “lamp,” a masterpiece that was later re-recorded on the Hydeout Productions album Melodica in a wonderful collaboration with Nujabes.
Remastered by her close friend Gen Tanabe, the tracks possess a new brilliance so striking that he himself remarked, “It’s exactly the sound we were looking for back then.”
For Fans of… Aspidistrafly, Gigi Masin, Goldmund, Helios, Janis Crunch, Kadan, Marz, Nils Frahm, Nujabes etc...
＜haruka nakamura＞
Musician / Born in Aomori
She moved to Tokyo at age 15 to pursue music. In 2008, she released her first album, grace. Although she had primarily played guitar until then, she began creating music centered on the piano from her second album, twilight. She has released several original albums, including muted piano solo albums Still Life and Nujabes Pray Reflections. Her collaboration with THE NORTH FACE, which involved releasing four albums throughout the four seasons for the new Harajuku store building Sphere, garnered attention when the series was released on cassette tape. Almost all of her albums from her early work continue to be released on vinyl and reissued due to ongoing demand even after all this time.
In 2020, she launched her own label, Todai, and began communicating her own words in letter-like messages through Todai Tsushin.
Her work spans a wide range of projects, including a music video for Yururi Island, an island where only horses were left behind in Hokkaido; wine with the natural wine brand BEAU PAYSAGE; live painting with artist Machiko Mirokoma; music for a video of a minaperlhone collection; and a collaborative live performance with photographer Michiko Kawai. She has composed music for video works such as Hiroshi Sugimoto’s special opening video for the Enoura Observatory, and has provided music for the NHK drama Hikikomori-sensei, the Hulu series Iki wo Hisomete, the TV documentary Tadao Ando: A Message to the Next Generation, the TV anime TRIGUN STANPEDE, and Nintendo’s Animal Crossing, among others.
After making music while traveling for many years, she decided to return to her hometown in the northern region in 2021 to make music there.
Tracklist:
A1. every day
A2. arne
A3. opus
A4. ralgo
A5. elm
A6. luz
B1. lang
B2. cielo
B3. elm/2
B4. sign
B5. lamp
B6. grace
B7. cadenza
