Hope & Despair by Kato Hideki

“Unique, unpretentiously brilliant, and curiously out of time, as if the music could be from thirty years ago, or yesterday, or tomorrow.” – Fred Frith

“The pieces are magnetic, with a kind of ritualistic level of concentration and repose. This music doesn’t just ‘hold up;’ it will sound haunting and relevant as long as there are ears to listen.” – Nels Cline

Originally inspired by Robert Frank’s photography, Kato Hideki created music based on an idea - taking sonic snapshots of New York and its most inspiring musicians - including John Zorn, Zeena Parkins, Dougie Bowne and Masahiko Kono, along with musicians from Tokyo. The result was an evocative album filled with acoustic and electronic sounds of New York City in the mid 1990’s. The music morphs from one scene to another, as if turning the pages of photographic images. The album, originally released on the Australian label Extreme in 1996, has been newly remastered in 2021, with new album art by the critically acclaimed photographer Alec Soth (Magnum Photos).

The limited edition of LP reissue is available on Joyful Noise Recordings.

Kato Hideki is a Japanese multi-instrumentalist, composer & producer. His music is truly diverse with a wide range of forms and sounds. His other titles are released on Tzadik, Joyful Noise Recordings, Improvised Music from Japan, Presquile records & Virgin UK
, etc.

katohideki.com