{"id":4291,"date":"2022-01-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-16T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/josephaleo.com\/blog\/?p=4291"},"modified":"2022-01-16T00:02:28","modified_gmt":"2022-01-16T08:02:28","slug":"soundwave-94-kazuya-nagaya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/josephaleo.com\/blog\/soundwave-94-kazuya-nagaya\/","title":{"rendered":"SOUNDWAVE : 94 : KAZUYA NAGAYA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Today\u2019s guest deejay is Kazuya Nagaya<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

Kazuya is a Japanese artist who creates immersive, ritualized compositions through bronze bells, gongs, and singing bowls. Kazuya\u2019s music is rooted in Buddhist (Zenzhu) philosophy and sensibilities unique to Japan. Kazuya\u2019s work and interests are also contemporary and span many cultures. Kazuya is also an award-winning writer and a connoisseur of Japanese Literature, Buddhist Folktales, and Zen Philosophical Works.<\/p>\n\n

I came across Kazuya\u2019s music at the beginning of the pandemic. At the time, my attention span had been whittled down to a blunt end. I could not read or watch anything. I couldn\u2019t find escape in music because none of the lyrics of the songs I listened to spoke to the new reality in which we all found ourselves. The only thing that provided solace was ambient, classical, instrumental, and experimental music. The kind of music that was essentially free of lyrics. The kind of music you could project your own meaning on or lose yourself in.<\/p>\n\n

I launched Soundwave to cope with the stress and isolation Brough about by the pandemic. I clutched at it like a drowning man grasps a life preserver. Soundwave gave me solace and succor in the months ahead that were far more challenging and heartbreaking than I could have imagined.<\/p>\n\n

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\"Kazuya
Kazuya Nagaya<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

Kazuya was one of the first musicians I invited to participate in Soundwave (listen<\/a> to Kazuya on the second episode of Soundwave). He could not have known when he recorded \u201cThanatos\u201d from his Dream Interpretation<\/a><\/em> album that I would play that song repeatedly for days. It seemed to sum up everything I was feeling in those early days of the pandemic. It was crucial to me to have Kazuya on Soundwave. It took over a year for Kazuya to find time to prepare his mix, and it took six months before Kazuya\u2019s mix was scheduled to arrive in your ears. But here we are.<\/p>\n\n

Nearly two years into the pandemic, I am in a very different place than I was initially. But Kazuya\u2019s \u201cThanatos\u201d and today\u2019s mix ia a touchstone to those painful times. At the same time, the way out is through, and Kazuya\u2019s music also served as a form of catharsis.<\/p>\n\n

Join us next week when our guest deejay will be Kim Cascone<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n