Ueno Takashi - ARMS (2024)

From Lawrence English
There’s two things I can tell you about Ueno Takashi, without reservation.

The first is he knows the best coffee spots in Tokyo. I am the happy recipient of this knowledge.

The second thing I can tell you is that he is someone for whom the guitar is a platform of exquisite promise.

Ueno Takashi, who many of you would recognise as one half of the legendary unit Tenniscoats, is also responsible for an impressive series of solo guitar recordings which stake out a claim that tests the fringes of extended technique, harmonic relation and post-blues modes. His approach is simple; the guitar must lead and through allowing this he has unlocked a potential in the instrument that is entirely personal and profound.

ARMS, which collect together a series of recordings made during the past few years, is by far one of his most melodic and structured recordings. Here, using only the simplest of tools and techniques he crafts a suite of pieces that orbit one another with a gentle gravity. His playing is, at times, intensely delicate and at other moments more free and playful, but never careless. Ueno’s way with the guitar is one attuned to ‘what is needed’, and he seemingly shuns excess. While some might call this approach minimalist, his unique sense of time opens another reading which extends beyond those traditions.

ARMS is a complete universe within which we are invited to be. Ueno is your host, and guide here. Enjoy.