OSAKA -- Music producer Shinichi Osawa has released a new album under his Mondo Grosso moniker. "Attune/Detune" marks the return of Osawa's solo project, which he resurrected last year for the first time in 14 years.
"This album turned out to be like a documentary of my year," Osawa said.
Osawa formed a band in Kyoto in 1991 which he fronted and played bass in. The band debuted in 1993 and disbanded in 1996, after which Osawa created his Mondo Grosso solo project and invited singers and other musicians to perform with him.
He stopped performing as Mondo Grosso in 2003 but decided to resurrect the name last year, when releases that he produced featuring actress Hikari Mitsushima and Asuka Saito from girl band Nogizaka46 aroused renewed interest in his music.
"I had forgotten so many things about the project. It was great to be reminded about the joy I experienced through the music," he said. "[Now more so than before] I've come to accept advice from my team. We are no longer in an era when only music professionals make music."
At the suggestion of his staff, Osawa enlisted Aina The End from female group BiSH to provide the vocals for a song that was used in a TBS drama, "Itsuwari no Sympathy" (You Always Haunt My Heart), which aired in January to March this year.
"The way she controlled the precision and aggression of her vocals surprised me," he said of the singer known for her husky vibrato singing style.
In the song "Turn It Up" on the new album, Osawa initially aimed to inject an element of cool, enlisting the help of musician ohashiTrio for the vocals.
"I communicated with him several times during the production process and we were finally able to create a funky, danceable track that I'm really happy with," Osawa said.
While producing music for various artists, he said that he began to trust his sensibility and compose music without being constrained by any particular style.
"This profession is about expressing oneself. I prefer being myself rather than living a lie. If the evaluation of my work declines, it is my responsibility," he said.
Osawa lived in Shiga Prefecture until his early 20s and engaged in other band activities in Kyoto Prefecture. "People there have the luxury of being surrounded by nature and mountains. I hope to live in that part of Japan in the future," he said.
He also said: "I want to produce music for film. I'd like to use music not just as a sound effect but as a thing that touches the hearts of viewers. I just want to continue being involved in music."
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