DAYBREAK | VINYL RECORD (LP)

Tojin Shimazaki's unique interpretation and playing style brings classical pieces back to life in the modern era. Has there ever been a more enjoyable classical guitar performance? *This is the first CD by classical guitarist Tojin Shimazaki, who was born in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture and is active mainly in the Kansai region. *Shimazaki is now 74 years old. He is a veteran with a career spanning more than 50 years, but he has never studied under anyone and has been treated as a maverick because of his unique playing style, and has never received the recognition he deserves. *Most of the 17 tracks included are well-known short classical pieces, but the expressive sound with a good attack the moment it is played presents a world different from that of the ordinary classical guitar. The secret to the sound lies in Shimazaki's unique playing technique, which he has developed over many years, and his modified guitar. The former is achieved by Shimazaki plucking the guitar strings at an angle, which is extremely difficult to describe in writing. The latter was achieved by a bold modification in which the bridge was removed, leaving only the saddle, and holes were drilled in the top (soundboard) of the guitar to secure the strings. The guitar modifications were made by Shimazaki himself, who is very dexterous. *The jacket and booklet feature heartwarming illustrations that are different in style from the performances, but they express Shimazaki's image of his music. Incidentally, all of the illustrations were created by Shimazaki's top female disciple. This work was originally released as an independent album in November 2021 on the Alquimista label, a subsidiary of Waon Records, but is now being re-released in it's original state under the name of the new label ShinRec (the actual producers of this CD). Please enjoy not only Shimazaki's unique performance, but also the airy, natural sound brought about by ShinRec's high-quality recording using two microphones and DSD5.6MHz, which is their creed. *This work has received high praise for it's performance and recording from editorial advisor Iwade Kazumi in the article 'In the Margins of Sound' published in the January 2022 issue of Stereo magazine, and from Professor Yasunobu Hirofumi in the article 'New Music Review' published in the March 2022 issue of Ongaku Gendai magazine.