Changing topics a bit, what’s your earliest memory of being moved by music?

When I went to see a baseball game as a kid at Korakuen Stadium before it became the Tokyo Dome. The energy of the stadium, the cheers of the crowd, the electric organ before the batters entered the batters box—that environment and those elements all came together as a “sound” that impressed me (moved me emotionally). If we’re talking after I was bit older and more aware of things, I remember the piano track on the cassette that came with the Sony Walkman II (red) my parents bought for me; it sounded almost too good, and I was impressed that I could carry it around while listening. There’s also the time I cried while listening to KANKAWA’s performance.

He was my partner in the Nude Jazz unit we did in the mid-2000s, and though it’s humbling to say, his playing really hit me hard. Not just the organ, but also the pianica and the snake flute—there’s something about it. Maybe it’s the tone, the frequency, the delicate touch, or perhaps it’s just who he is as a person. I wonder if moving someone through a performance comes down to the vibrations and resonances that the musician emits.