Earth Awhile by Michael Grigoni, Chihei Hatakeyama, Stephen Vitiello

Earth Awhile is the first collaborative release by Japanese sound artist Chihei Hatakeyama and American musicians Michael Grigoni and Stephen Vitiello. Grigoni and Vitiello formerly collaborated on Slow Machines released by 12k in 2020, which was selected as NPR Music’s “Top 10 Albums of February 2020.”

Earth Awhile was a chance to reach out during the isolation of the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic and craft a project that bridges Hatakeyama’s ambient soundscapes with the signature sound of Grigoni’s steel guitar and Vitiello’s compositional sensibilities and seasoned resourcing of field recordings. Also an instrumentalist, Vitiello’s acoustic guitar and piano playing appears on this recording as well. Expanding the geographic footprint of the project, the trio was also joined for one track by Australian guitarist Cameron Webb (Seaworthy).

Earth Awhile presents six compositions, allowing for an expansive approach to time. The tracks feature lap steel and pedal steel guitar, dobro, modular synthesizer and layers of processing that rise and fall in a series of expansive compositions. The album’s title is borrowed from a poem by Robert Frost titled “Birches” — “I'd like to get away from earth awhile. And then come back to it and begin over.” The track titles reference “Birches” as well, grounding these soundscapes in territories of light and air.

white paddy mountain is a small record label based in Japan.
Chihei Hatakeyama is A Sound Artist And Musician Living On The Outskirts Of Tokyo.
http://chihei-mastering.com/

chihei.org