I think LEIMAY is a remarkable space, and I think the mission of what I’ve heard about is fantastic, to be able to really offer this wonderful space for musicians from all over to come and be able to experiment with their projects, to practice. It’s fantastic in the community.
I absolutely loved experiencing Kaoru Watanabe’s piece. I’ve known him for a long time as a musician, but to see him bring years of work together into this beautiful composition featuring so many different musicians and musical traditions from around the world was fantastic. What I loved was the use of the different instruments and the soundscapes throughout the piece to express both location and emotion. Using the different instruments, the voice, the chimes, the bells, to be able to create this ethereal space that was both traveling through time in the story, but also timeless, and just really connected deeply to the emotions of the artists. It really came through.