Afterimage by re:plus & Osamu Fukuzawa
Being among the most prominent jazz musicians & producers in Tokyo (25k physical copies sold on debut album, support from PlayStation Japan), re:plus teamed up with leading Japanese keyboardist Osamu Fukuzawa for a heart-melting, 8-piece jazz/lofi album called Afterimage. The project was inspired by the way the Pandemic changed our lives, including all of us on the inside – hence the name.
The sound defies the oversaturated lofi genre by adding mind-bending jazz compositions – all created in a way that will “firmly stay in the listeners’ minds”, as the artists elaborate. In the album, you’ll find beautiful keys, soft beats & a number of guest artists – including renowned guitarist Kazuki Isogai (with 7 releases on Stereofox Records) on “Town bustle” & established saxophonist Yuichiro Kato (Superfly & Kaela Kimura live bands) on “Hakumei”.
1st single “never” tells the story of moving on in life which makes you realize old times are never coming back. It’s not sadness per se but rather sentimentality. It’s a melancholic jazz/lofi journey with heartwarming piano, dusty drums & natural sound design.
2nd single “Hakumei”, meaning “dusk”, is the sonic equivalent of this quiet time at the end of the day – soft keys, hazy sax & smooth beats.
On the records, you’ll also find a remix of “Hakumei” and a remastered version of re:plus & Osamu Fukuzawa’s renowned single “Far away from the noize”, which amassed dozens of millions of streams across DSPs.
*The cover art is a photo, taken by re:plus himself at a temple in Kyoto.
[ Artist Bio ]
re:plus is Hiroaki Watanabe – pianist & producer based in Tokyo. His debut single “Everlasting Truth” was released in July 2009 and reached No. 1 on the iTunes hip-hop chart in Japan. His debut album with the same name has been a super long-running hit, selling over 25K copies to date. He’s so far released 7 more albums, a genre-bending fusion of jazz & lofi and has received support from PlayStation Japan & editorials on all major DSPs (Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, etc).
Osamu Fukuzawa is a composer and keyboardist from Fukuoka, Japan, influenced by hip hop, jazz & much more – drawing inspiration from the likes of Nujabes & re:plus. Aside from self-releasing, he works for both indies and major artists in Japan – a song he produced and co-wrote in 2021 reached #1 on the Spotify viral chart in Japan.
Tracklist
| 1. | never | 3:34 |
| 2. | Hakumei (feat. Yuichiro Kato) | 4:01 |
| 3. | Wandering | 3:10 |
| 4. | Where are you? | 2:38 |
| 5. | Town bustle (feat. Kazuki Isogai) | 2:41 |
| 6. | Far away from the noize (Remaster) (feat. Yusuke Shima) | 4:04 |
| 7. | Existence | 3:12 |
| 8. | Hakumei (Remix) (feat. Yuichiro Kato) | 5:09 |
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