The Afterlife Is Letting Go
Written to accompany Brandon Shimoda's book 'The Afterlife is Letting Go', Patrick Shiroishi surveys Japanese American history on this solemn but dreamy remembrance.
An award-winning poet and academic, Shimoda explored the "afterlife" of the U.S. government's forced removal and mass imprisonment of Japanese Americans in a series of meditative essays, wondering what traces remain today. And it's a subject that's close to Shiroishi's heart; he was invited to speak on a panel of descendents at the 80th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066 at Colorado College, where Shimoda works, and admits it was a "beautiful experience". His reaction to Shimoda's essays is similarly complex; it's music that realizes the weight of the subject matter, but refuses to mire itself in catastrophizing, rumination or passivity.
The multi-instrumentalist takes the titles from Shimoda's book and uses them as a springboard for his lushly orchestrated mood pieces. Shirioshi sees the record as a "physical processing" of Shimoda's words that's intended to drive listeners towards the book. It's touching stuff that should appeal to fans of Lamin Fofana, Nala Sinephro or Joseph Shabason.
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Written to accompany Brandon Shimoda's book 'The Afterlife is Letting Go', Patrick Shiroishi surveys Japanese American history on this solemn but dreamy remembrance.
An award-winning poet and academic, Shimoda explored the "afterlife" of the U.S. government's forced removal and mass imprisonment of Japanese Americans in a series of meditative essays, wondering what traces remain today. And it's a subject that's close to Shiroishi's heart; he was invited to speak on a panel of descendents at the 80th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066 at Colorado College, where Shimoda works, and admits it was a "beautiful experience". His reaction to Shimoda's essays is similarly complex; it's music that realizes the weight of the subject matter, but refuses to mire itself in catastrophizing, rumination or passivity.
The multi-instrumentalist takes the titles from Shimoda's book and uses them as a springboard for his lushly orchestrated mood pieces. Shirioshi sees the record as a "physical processing" of Shimoda's words that's intended to drive listeners towards the book. It's touching stuff that should appeal to fans of Lamin Fofana, Nala Sinephro or Joseph Shabason.
Written to accompany Brandon Shimoda's book 'The Afterlife is Letting Go', Patrick Shiroishi surveys Japanese American history on this solemn but dreamy remembrance.
An award-winning poet and academic, Shimoda explored the "afterlife" of the U.S. government's forced removal and mass imprisonment of Japanese Americans in a series of meditative essays, wondering what traces remain today. And it's a subject that's close to Shiroishi's heart; he was invited to speak on a panel of descendents at the 80th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066 at Colorado College, where Shimoda works, and admits it was a "beautiful experience". His reaction to Shimoda's essays is similarly complex; it's music that realizes the weight of the subject matter, but refuses to mire itself in catastrophizing, rumination or passivity.
The multi-instrumentalist takes the titles from Shimoda's book and uses them as a springboard for his lushly orchestrated mood pieces. Shirioshi sees the record as a "physical processing" of Shimoda's words that's intended to drive listeners towards the book. It's touching stuff that should appeal to fans of Lamin Fofana, Nala Sinephro or Joseph Shabason.
Written to accompany Brandon Shimoda's book 'The Afterlife is Letting Go', Patrick Shiroishi surveys Japanese American history on this solemn but dreamy remembrance.
An award-winning poet and academic, Shimoda explored the "afterlife" of the U.S. government's forced removal and mass imprisonment of Japanese Americans in a series of meditative essays, wondering what traces remain today. And it's a subject that's close to Shiroishi's heart; he was invited to speak on a panel of descendents at the 80th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066 at Colorado College, where Shimoda works, and admits it was a "beautiful experience". His reaction to Shimoda's essays is similarly complex; it's music that realizes the weight of the subject matter, but refuses to mire itself in catastrophizing, rumination or passivity.
The multi-instrumentalist takes the titles from Shimoda's book and uses them as a springboard for his lushly orchestrated mood pieces. Shirioshi sees the record as a "physical processing" of Shimoda's words that's intended to drive listeners towards the book. It's touching stuff that should appeal to fans of Lamin Fofana, Nala Sinephro or Joseph Shabason.