Engaged in the Moment

Joe - The BEAT The rehearsal room throbbed like a living thing.  Joe sat low behind the drum kit, his shoulders loose, wrists snapping in clean arcs.  Sticks struck skin and metal, thump, snap, hiss, the floor tom rumbling under his feet, the ride cymbal scattering light and sound into the dark corners.  He didn’t count time; he breathed it.  The kick drum was his pulse, the snare his breath.  When the groove locked, it was as if the whole world moved in time with him; even the flickering neon outside the rehearsal window seemed to flash on beat.  Tour dates blurred together in his mind, and the cities merely passed by. But rhythm ruled him, and he obeyed. That was his only compass ジョー / ビート リハーサル室は、生き物のように脈打っていた。 ジョーはドラムセットの奥に腰を下ろし、肩は柔らかく、手首は鋭く弧を描く。 スティックが皮と金属を打ち――ドン、パシン、シュー。 フロアタムが足元から唸り、ライドシンバルは光と音を闇の隅々へ散らす。 彼はリズムを数えない。リズムを呼吸する。 バスドラムは彼の脈、スネアは彼の息。 グルーヴが噛み合うと、世界全体が自分のビートで動いているように感じられた。 リハーサル室の窓の外で瞬くネオンさえも、拍に合わせて点滅しているかのように。 ツアー日程は頭の中で溶け合い、街はただ通り過ぎてい...

Threads of love woven in unseen light  Beat - Shadow - Light and with The Ghobbuls 見えぬ光に織りなす愛の糸 ビート・シャドゥー ・ ライト、そしてゴブルズと。 This is the story of Joe, a white man, and Akine, a Japanese woman, who meet and fall in love. Within this “momentary love,” they come to reflect on themselves, discovering both the strength to live and the direction they should take. The Ghobbuls leave quiet comments, though their voices never reach the two. When words change, expression changes too, especially in Japanese, my native tongue, where nuances cannot always be conveyed in English. I wrote and rewrote this many times, moving back and forth between  Japanese and English. And I added kirie-style illustrations as inserts. Please enjoy the richness of this three-fold approach. FYI  Aki （秋） other read / Shu  * Meaning - Autumn Ne（音）other read / Oto * Meaning - Sound この物語は、白人のジョーと日本人の秋音が出会い、恋をし、 「瞬間の愛」の中で自分自身を見つめ合いながら、 互いに生きる力と進むべき方向を見出していく物語です。 ゴブルズはそっとコメントを残しますが、その声は二人には届きません。...