Ayuo released his most recent CD "Outside Society" in 2019.
For those interested, Ayuo will personally mail CDs to any country.
The payment can be made through Paypal.
Please send a message to the contact address on the top of the home page for details.
The CD itself is $20.
The postage and handling may vary slightly depending on the country it is sent to.
Since Ayuo is a working musician, please wait up to 5 days for a response.
The musicians on the CD are as follows::
Ayuo: Vocals, Guitar, Bouzouki, Irish Harp, Electric Violin
Akikazu Nakamura: Shakuhachi
Toshiko Kuto: 25-String Koto
Yoko Ueno: Vocals, Accordion, Glocken,
Junzo Tateiwa: Drums, Percussion
Takuyuki Moriya: Bass
Fumiko Kai: Violin, Viola
Takui Matsumoto: Cello
Ken Kaizu: Keyboards,
Here is a review of the CD by Gerald Van Waes.
It is on the following site from Belgium:
https://geraldvanwaes.wixsite.com/rockontherice2/single-post/2016/06/25/Ayuo
Ayuo: Outside Society (2020)
A review by Gerald Van Waes
The two earliest Tzadik releases of Ayuo provided me an impression of Ayuo’s very distinctive original and chamber-kind of music in it which will made me remember Ayuo as a musical voice. In some of Ayuo’s other releases, the link towards the UK and the UK progfolk and acoustic prog scenes and its cooperations involved there are more noticeable there, while this prog aspect becomes another aspect of influence. It features a kind of spoken word with song as a kind of narrative feeling, a personal diary-like vision that is a new aspect that hangs into it’s palette like a curtain of colours. The main composition focus in that way somewhat taken over by its narrative aspect of ideas. In this new release Ayuo definitely tried and succeeded to blend these two mentioned musical worlds better, so that the contemplative ideas of story lead aspects remain more in line with the compositional feel of leads.
In the first track it’s British folk-prog influence is most dominant, with its Anthony Philips-kind of 12-string guitars and also other acoustic guitar layers enfoldment of the track, and its narrative aspect, it provides a rather symphonic rock feel. Furthermore, we hear an interesting flute part in it, some fine drumming mixed with the acoustic and electric guitar layers. In the next track some small part of synth layers are added too. Here, the musical voice in it tries to make it even more than ever before onto the prog world heritage.
After the lyrical themes of being an outsider when watching the people own bubbles of living along into their worlds or ideas that are able to grasp of society, Ayuo’s own spiritual goals are expressed first and mire distinctively with an extra element of acoustic percussion lead. A beautiful Japanese female voice accompanies this personal aspect well. This brings us easily and also swiftly and nicely back towards the renowned Ayuo-styled pretty classical chamber arrangements with its classical string harmonies, and then later, and as a new idea to also purely improvised vocal arrangements as another expressing Ayuo’s personal journey that distinguishes him as an outsider, with a sound from deeper within.
With the use of harp and strings combined, the order of musical themes have the effect that the atmosphere here succeeds to remain light enough to be able to continue to listen with a feeling of receiving pleasant oral forms of aesthetics.
After one slightly lighter approach and then a few more variations of chamber strings and solo voices, the last couple of tracks really succeed at its best to drag me as the listener into a dreamy and larger compositional flow. Notice also especially the several flute solos that appear here and there, also as introductions in tracks, for which I should pay extra credit to the flute player involved.
The last concluding track added more power, like with a funky guitar element and a heavier electric guitar arrangement, mixed with the acoustic elements which makes this a convincing conclusion. Clearly, this album succeeded well to bridge and blend all aspects of Ayuo’s musical ranges he has explored so far and that he could now deliver well into just one musical album. Please check it out.
For sale via Ayuo digital and physical at https://ayuo.bandcamp.com/album/outside-society
Ayuo - A World Not So Perfect