*2023 stock* Wakana Ikeda is a flute player whose activities range widely, from performances of composed works to improvised and popular music. She also leads the experimental music group Suidobashi Chamber Ensemble. In 2021, Ikeda and Swiss cellist Stefan Thut released the duo album "afar" on the Ftarri label. Guitarist Takashi Masubuchi started playing improvised music in the latter half of the 2000s, and since 2018 has focused on acoustic guitar performance. While Ikeda and Masubuchi are musicians closely associated with Ftarri, some may be surprised by the participation on this album of Takuro Okada, a guitarist active on the popular music scene. In fact, Okada has a longstanding interest in improvised music, and participated in the improvisation group Hatten along with Wakana Ikeda.
Wakana Ikeda, Takuro Okada and Takashi Masubuchi performed at Ftarri in Suidobashi, Tokyo, on September 23, 2021. The first set was a duo by Okada and Masubuchi, and Ikeda joined in for a trio in the second set. This CD documents that trio performance in a single track of 31 minutes. Instead of flute (her usual instrument), Ikeda plays harmonica here. The mutually overlapping sounds of Okada's and Masubuchi's acoustic guitars and Ikeda's harmonica create a fascinating and profound performance.
