Jazz, reggae, etc. to listen to on "Underwater Stroll".

—How have you interacted with the sea in your life up until now?

KENJI I'm from Tochigi Prefecture, which has no coastline, so I only went swimming in the sea about once a year, if that.

ORIE I was only familiar with the sea when I was little, and since my uncle loved skin diving (freediving), every summer I would spend about a week staying at a guesthouse near the sea.

Which ocean is that?

ORIE I think it was mainly around Katsuura, Tateyama, and Urayasu in Chiba Prefecture. I loved floating and watching my uncle while he was diving in the sea. I also remember a place that used to be like a guesthouse on the beach, where you could stay overnight in a dilapidated abandoned boat.

—TORSO's music also gives me a feeling of comfort, like drifting on the sea. "SALT WATER," which is included on the album "SET OUT," can be translated as "saltwater."

ORIE "SALT WATER" may refer to saltwater, but perhaps it's more like the flow of water circulating within a person is connected to the undulating waves of water.

KENJI However, I'm not only imagining a grand, majestic, and vast ocean. If I had to choose, I'd say it's more of a "small, intimate ocean."

ORIE I hope to create something that allows you to breathe normally and feel various elements.

KENJI The ocean isn't just about the bright, tropical side; it also has darker aspects, like the ocean at night or the seabed. I think that was one of the images that came to mind.

ORIE When we create music, we don't try to align or refine each other's visions; we just put our individual ideas directly into the music, like this.

—This playlist expands on that mood, or perhaps you could say it's a selection of songs titled "Music Drifting on the Sea." Is there an overall story behind it?

ORIE I had an image in mind. The first song, Ernest Hood's "Dusk," gave me the feeling of gradually descending from "above" to the seabed.

KENJI From the surface of the sea?

ORIE : Starting from the surface of the sea. First, it slowly sinks from where the light reaches, then the second song begins just as the light is about to reach or not reach, and then it moves deep into the ocean at the speed of a whale diving, landing on the seabed in the fourth song. From there, it walks, and finally the image is of dissolving into the sea.

—The second song is King Tubby's "Frenemy Dub." It's a reggae song, but it uses a technique called "dub," where the instrument and vocal tracks are taken apart and then reconstructed using effects such as echo (amplification of reverberations).

KENJI I even considered making a playlist of "all dub tracks." Especially since the high-resolution, smooth echo of King Tubbys makes me feel like I'm drifting endlessly in the ocean.

ORIE Also, this dub by King Tubby has this muffled sound, like when you cover your ears with your hands, and it makes me think of being underwater.

KENJI However, as with The Upsetters' "Blackboard Jungle Dub," which was included in the prototype playlist, the vocals are unique, and there are quite a few songs with a rather earthy sound. That's one of the reasons why I decided to select songs without limiting myself to any particular genre this time.

—Some of TORSO's songs also use vocals in fragments. I see this as a kind of dub-like expression.

ORIE : It was more like the vocals just naturally came in as we were creating it. We weren't necessarily set on it being an instrumental-only arrangement.

KENJI I'm not what you'd call a vocalist, so my presence is more like an instrument. I'm not aiming to be the main vocalist. In that sense, the fragmented vocals are definitely influenced by dub music.

—Dylan Carlson, who plays the fourth track "Reaching the Gulf," is a pioneer of "drone metal," a genre characterized by its slow tempo and heavy sound, and EARTH, featured on the seventh track, is also a band he has led.

KENJI I thought that if you're at the very bottom of the ocean, it wouldn't be surprising to hear heavy, unsettling guitar-like sounds like these.

—In addition, you mentioned Brahja and Jeremy Steig, and in the latter half, you also listed songs where jazz and rock intersect.

KENJI I thought there are jazz songs that evoke the feeling of the ocean. I chose these songs to represent the image of the diverse ecosystems within the sea, which are indescribable and beyond human comprehension.

ORIE The first half features many images related to water and the sea, but the second half was chosen to depict various scenes of the ocean floor.

—This area also evokes the image of the deep sea.whatishey.

KENJI It's much deeper, isn't it? But I think there must be all sorts of scenery in the deep sea.

ORIE It's like walking through the deep sea with a mix of emotions.

And that brings us to "Albatross" by Public Image Ltd. It's one of the quintessential post-punk songs, but listening to it in this context, it certainly evokes the deep sea. It has a hazy soundscape and a slow, sluggish groove.

KENJI This song came up pretty early on in the song selection process, right?

ORIE At first, before the image of "the seabed" was even solidified, I might have said, "Is this song about the sea?" But then I thought it would work well in this context.

KENJI The next track, Peter Gordon & David Cunningham's "The Non-Loop," also evokes the image of drifting in the deep ocean.

ORIE This song gives you the feeling of moving across the ocean floor using only your sense of touch.

KENJI I imagined that if sounds could be heard from the deep seabed, these might be the kinds of sounds that are playing.

ORIE It's so quiet that you can hear certain sounds, or something like that.

—And finally, The Beach Boys' "Til I Die"”。The lyrics depict the depth, suffering, and despair of the ocean from the perspective of a cork floating in the sea.

ORIE The lyrics feel quite heavy, don't they? I chose this song as the last one because I wanted to express a humble attitude towards the sea, but also a hope that things will move in a positive direction.

KENJI In terms of sound, it's underwater, but not dark; I think we managed to land on a dreamy, almost mystical feel, like the Dragon Palace.

—Finally, a message to our listeners: How do you think people can best enjoy this playlist?

KENJI I didn't stick to any particular genre; I selected the songs based on whether they had a "subterranean" feel to them. I hope you'll also enjoy the differences between places where light is shining on the seabed and places that are dark.

ORIE : I hope that even in a space like the "seabed" where visibility is poor, people can enjoy listening to it while letting their imaginations run wild. In the future, when the day comes when we can easily take a walk on the seabed, it would be great if people could listen to it then.

—That's a truly inspiring story! Thank you so much for today.

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TRACKLIST

Ernest Hood – Dusk
King Tubby – Frenemy Dub
Gigi Masin & Charles Hayward – First Time Ruth Saw The Sea
Dylan Carlson – Reaching the Gulf
King Tubby – Dread Dub
Brahja – Welcome to Wohlom
Earth – Sigil of Brass
Jeremy Steig – Dream Passage
Public Image Ltd – Albatross
Peter Gordon & David Cunningham – The Non-Loop
The Beach Boys – 'Til I Die

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Profile

TORSO Torso

TORSO is a duo consisting of KENJI (flute, saxophone, etc.), who is active as a saxophonist in GROUP and SLOW CRIMES, and ORIE (cello, voice, etc.), who explores expression through cello and voice.
In 2019, he launched his own label, "OZATO RECORD," and has since been based in Tokyo. In the same year, he released his debut album, "SETOUT," with Joe Talia as the engineer.
In 2021, they released a limited edition 12-inch single mixed by Ilicit Tsuboi. In 2024, they released the concept album "WATERCURVE" through TEALIGHTSOUND, a label run by Ujien, a long-established tea shop in Kyoto. In 2025, they released their second album "FACES," mixed by dub engineer Naoyuki Uchida. In November of the same year, they released a 7-inch split with Eddie Marcon through EM Records.

IG: @fishcurryman @orrietty_

Interview and text by Hanazawa Ou
Illustration by Oki Masahide