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A Visit To Ikigai

by Myndflower

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1.
Ichigo Ichie 14:03
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2.
The Comfort of the Dark Green Shade 07:43
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3.
Natsukashii 09:15
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4.
Mono No Aware 11:27
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about

There is much wisdom to be gleaned from Japanese thought that can put us back in touch with ourselves and what we believe our path should be, opening the door to more fulfilling moments no matter what our external conditions may be. I ran across the term "ikigai" by pure chance and began to explore it. In essence, it is what gives life its meaning, its sense of purpose, and its way to live our best life and find that aforementioned fulfillment in both deeper and what could be called menial activities.

With this in mind, the concept behind this record is grounded in these concepts from Japanese thought that are simultaneously so simple and infinitely deep and varied in their manifestation. The sounds here are of the temple of our minds, long meditations consisting of subtleties, establishing moods, conversing musically, finding unrepeatable moments in open, unrestricted, harmonious improvisations.

Ichigo Ichie: the concept of this moment we are living now being unrepeatable in the way it is occurring now.

The Comfort of the Dark Green Shade: the rays of sunshine providing warmth among the dark green summer leaves, the best of all worlds, those fleeting moments of morning peace in a real or imagined garden.

Natsukashii: a nostalgia that links us fondly to the past without the desire to return--a recognition of the beauty of what once was without compromising the only thing we have: what is.

Mono No Aware: the gentle sadness of things within their impermanence.

My collaborator here, the multi-faceted, multi-talented, multi-instrumentalist, polyglot Scott Spanbauer embodies a wonderful manifestation of the elements of ikigai in practice--all the components that are visible in the various circles that compose the complex venn diagram that represents it graphically. His as-of-then unnamed studio was then graced with the name "Studio Ikigai" as it filled our days with meaning, fulfillment, while living deep moments of Ichigo Ichie.

While there are Japanese concepts here, the instrumentation is as western as it gets: a pedal steel guitar, at times played through a Leslie speaker and a Fender amplifier; and a Danelectro baritone electric guitar played through a Fender amplifier.

credits

released July 23, 2023

Recorded July 12-14, 2023 at Studio Ikigai, Boulder, Colorado.
Assembled July 21-22, 2023 at the House of Light, Camarillo, California.

Javier González - baritone electric guitar, mini-vibraphone, cymbals

Scott Spanbauer - pedal steel guitar, 12-string electric guitar, cymbals, percussion

All tracks and overdubs recorded in one take.
All tracks by JG and SS.

Special thanks to Betsy deCastro and
another special thanks to Mónica Pesántez for making these sessions possible.

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Myndflower California

Hear the kromodelic sounds of Myndflower.
Myndflower blooms becoming the many colors of psychedelia past and present. As Myndflower, the sounds of multi-instrumentalist composer Javier González have reverberated from various home studios since 2009 seeking to find a place outside of the continuum of time, at once familiar and exotic, at once strange and known. ... more

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