It is a privilege to write this blog.

It’s a privilege to have readers log on and spend 10 minutes checking out my recommendations. It’s a pleasure to have the luxury of setting aside an hour or so almost every day to think and write.

More than anything else though, it is an honour to have talented artists reach out and ask me to write about them. It was the thing I missed most after leaving music writing in 1996. And it had a lot to do with my decision to return to exclaim.ca and to launch baddpress.blog at the beginning of this year.

I’m sharing all this because I’ve recently received a new recording that is so finely crafted, so beautifully conceived and rendered that it is a privilege to share it with you. Akira Kosemura’s In the Dark Woods is set for release Sept. 15 on his own SCHOLE label and on 1631 recordings.

Tokyo-based Kosemura is a successful pianist and music producer whose catalogue stretches back to 2007. Just 32, he has seen success recording for film, stage productions and commercials.

This new recording marries electronics and acoustic performances. Kosemura plays piano, Wurlitzer and synthesizer. A string quartet adds to the modern classical feel of much of the album. There are also touches of ambient here.

I featured “DNA” and “Stillness of the Holy Place” on my Aug. 20 podcast. Both are thoughtful, moving performances that demonstrate Kosemura’s comfort with both the classical and ambient genres. His work displays the maturity of an accomplished composer for whom ambient music is a meaningful, positive influence. The close of “Stillness of the Holy Place” is a fine example.

Other highlights include the subtle “Shadow,” the moody “Snowy Sky” and for the David Lynch fans “Dedicated to Laura Palmer” (a track I’m certain Lynch would adore).

In the Dark Woods will be available on vinyl, digital download and a CD/DVD package that includes five music videos.

Kevin Press