
Japanese Composer Announces New Album ‘Forest of Tranquility’ Growing from Osaka Commission
Single Out 15th September 2026
Album Out 13th November 2026 via Erased Tapes
+ Wonderfruit Festival Thailand December 3-7 | Additional Asia Dates TBA
OSAKA/LONDON – Japanese composer and vibraphone artist Masayoshi Fujita releases “Portal to the Universe”, out 15th September 2026, the first single from his new album ‘Forest of Tranquility’ (13th November 2026, Erased Tapes). The album grows from an honourable commission: Fujita created the soundtrack for Expo 2025’s vast living nature installation in Osaka—a six-month landmark event visited by millions.
The Commission: Nature as Portal
Expo 2025’s central installation featured 1,500 real trees (rescued and repurposed from the Expo’s former ’70s site and Osaka parks), a central pond, and an open-air sanctuary designed for visitors to tune out noise and restore energy. Fujita envisioned music that deepened connection to nature’s ebbs and flows through dynamic shifts and gentle arcs—creating a living tapestry mirroring the surrounding forest.
For the installation, Fujita created weather-reactive compositions using sensor systems: three versions of each two-hour piece (sunny, cloudy, rainy) with textures modified by climate and frog calls representing rain.
The Single: “Portal to the Universe”
“This song was made as the last song of a day,” Fujita explains. “It feels like you are slowly drifting in the vast universe and the sea of memory.”
The track builds immersive sound journeys from cicadas, chimes, woodwinds, and distant children’s chatter—coaxing the brain into believing relaxation is attainable.
Album Context: Environmental Music Tradition
Like kankyō ongaku pioneers Hiroshi Yoshimura, Midori Takada, and Haruomi Hosono before him, Fujita makes gentle, mind-massaging music intended to blend harmoniously with its environment. For at-home listeners, the album functions as a serene transportive pod—capable of taking you anywhere.
The Sound: Nature’s Design
Organic resonance of acoustic instruments—marimba, vibraphone, percussion, Armenian duduk (Hayk Karoyi), Japanese shō (Mattias Hållsten)—showcase nature’s design. Field recordings of birds and frogs, atmospheric drones, and white noise evoking wind through mountains carve out roomy soundworld for reflective thought.
“I wanted to have a lot of space in between the sounds,” says Fujita.
Artist Contex
After 13 years in Berlin, Fujita relocated to rural Japan in 2020 to make music in nature. He now lives with family high in a mountain village (Kami-cho, Hyōgo, three hours west of Kyoto), surrounded by water and occasional bears, working from a former kindergarten.
Album Structure: Biorhythm Concept
‘Forest of Tranquility’ blooms across seven long-form trails, each shifting subtly by time of day:
- Early morning: brighter mallet percussion, more space
- Noon: increased activity
- Afternoon: settled, calm
- 6 PM: activity revival
- Evening: nocturnes and quiet
Track Details
- Portal To The Universe – Dark night sky imagery; drifting through vast universe and sea of memory
- Departure – Marimba paired with starry synths, sparkling idiophone
- Forest of Tranquility (Title) – Stillness; “feeling of birth, soft beginning of day in forest”
- Light, Wind and Water – Elemental forces; duduk, marimba, flute
- Komorebi Dance – Japanese word for “sunlight filtering through leaves”; hand percussion
- All Creatures Bow to Evening – Golden-hour comfort; languid hand percussion
- Time To Go – Closing meditation
Streaming: Asian Market Strength
Out of 15M total streams, Japan ranks #3 territory, with growing audiences across Asia:
- Japan: #3
- South Korea: #13
- Taiwan: #18
- Indonesia: #19
- Singapore: #34
- China: #37
- Thailand: #38
- Malaysia: #39
- Hong Kong: #40
- Vietnam: #49
Live Dates:
December 2026
- 3-7 December – Wonderfruit Festival, Thailand
Additional Asia dates currently in development. Agent enquiries welcome.
Album Details
Single: “Portal to the Universe”
Release Date: 15th September 2026
Album: ‘Forest of Tranquility’
Album Release: 13th November 2026
Label: Erased Tapes
Format: CD, Vinyl, Digital
Critical Recognition
“Meditative pieces with a minimalistic pulse” — New York Times
“Uncanny sense of both depth and weightlessness” — Pitchfork
“An impressive exercise in ambient soundscaping” — Financial Times
“Dreamy textures” — The Fader
“Such a beautiful thing” — Mary Anne Hobbs, BBC 6 Music