Shugo Tokumaru

Photo by Yasu Takeo

As a young child, Shugo Tokumaru preferred listening to his piano teacher play rather than playing himself. “I don’t remember a single composition now,” claims the Tokyo-based indie artist, though his musical and observational skills seem to be working in concert quite well these days.

His latest release, Night Piece, is an eloquent and considered collection of folk-infused musings, beautifully illustrated by Stiletto NYC. Though it clocks in at a brisk twenty-seven minutes, the ten songs traverse sonic territory as diverse as 60’s pop and traditional Japanese music with unexpected dexterity. “ I can’t stand listening to long albums, but I still wanted to fit in 10 songs,” he says, by way of explaining the short album length. “Don’t worry, the next record is 40 minutes!”

Classically trained in piano and guitar, Shugo began to experiment with many other instruments, both analog and digital, at the age of fourteen. A decade later, this bedroom producer has established himself as a prolific songwriter and musician in the Japanese indie scene.  Along with creating his own work, he finds time to sing with the indie-pop group The Gellers and write for Tamurapan, an all-girl punk rock trio from Tokyo. With influences ranging from “Cool music like Robert Wyatt and John Fahey to unbelievably terrible music like children’s cartoon themes,” his songs conjure the hazy melodies of Brian Wilson with the more punctuated rhythms and low-fi instrumentation of bluegrass and American folk.

“I’m not sure what it means to be a folk-oriented singer,” he muses, “but I hardly ever find the type of music I make in Japan.” Delicately plucked mandolins, unpredictable electronic beats and earnest, barely perceptible vocals help to make Shugo the exception to the rule.

Being an independent musician in Japan is not, to Shugo, a disadvantage. “I’d say it’s comfortable because no one tells me what to do.  It doesn’t make you any cooler because you’re a major or an independent artist. To me a cool artist is someone who makes such great music and gives such awesome performances that no commercial influences matter. That’s what I aspire to become.”

Introspective and self-effacing, his songs are usually about the nuances of everyday life. “I’m always imagining silly things in my head. I try not to put much meaning in the music, though sometimes I write from my dream journal.” It is that dreaminess that makes the Japanese words vocalized in the songs less important than the overall atmosphere they create. 

Shugo’s songwriting process is appropriately spontaneous and reflects the organic quality of the music. “It’s like a puzzle. If there are no pictures on the pieces, there’s no sense in completing the puzzle. What you then need are creativity, mathematical skill, and glue.  When I come up with an image of a song, I record it in a day before I forget what it sounds like. I record it without programming, a sampler, or a drum set.” Although Shugo often performs live with other artists, he hardly ever records collaboratively. He prefers the solitude of writing alone but hopes to someday venture out of his seclusion and work more closely with other musicians.

When asked about the future, Shugo confesses “I have no idea, but I’d like to go to outer space one day.” With a deck full of otherworldly tunes, he’s already got the perfect soundtrack for the ride.

Look for Shugo’s latest release Night Piece on the Music Related label now available at insound.com.