We love The Arch, the new album from composer and multi-instrumentalist Kaoru Watanabe, which arrived last week through New Amsterdam Records in partnership with Figure 8 Recording. A sought-after collaborator, who has worked with the likes of André 3000, Yo-Yo Ma, Wes Anderson, Laurie Anderson, Jason Moran and Rhiannon Giddens, Watanabe has spent three decades honing his work with Japanese flutes and percussion, and bringing traditional Japanese music into conversation with jazz, improvisation and experimental music.
Created over the course of a year at Figure 8 as part of its Open Residency programme, The Arch saw Watanabe working closely with Grammy Award-winning producer William Brittelle and executive producer Shahzad Ismaily. Across its ten tracks, traditional Japanese instruments including shinobue and ryuteki flutes, taiko drums, narimono percussion and koto are placed alongside piano, synthesizers, saxophone and harp, all played by Watanabe.
The album came to life after a period of deep reflection for Watanabe, who turned fifty in 2025 and was also navigating the death of his mother. Looking back at his upbringing in St. Louis, his Japanese heritage, his years living and performing in Japan and his return to New York, he describes The Arch as a culmination of decades spent bringing these different musical and cultural experiences together into one singular vision.
Today, Watanabe has unveiled a wonderful visual companion for ‘Kumo No Ito (Spider’s Thread)’, one of the album’s most striking and propulsive pieces, featuring the voice of his partner Yurie Ito. Speaking about the track, he comments:
“My taiko are made by the Miyamoto Unosuke Shoten, an eighth-generation drum maker in Tokyo. The large ones are designed to be loud—a musician is drawn to sound the drum with all their energy and strength in order to be heard by the entire village. I love the idea that, with modern technology, we can juxtapose intense drumming with gentle koto, harp, shinobue, piano, and singing. The title of the piece is a reference to the short story by Akutagawa Ryunosuke titled the same. A story of paradise and hell, salvation, damnation, and enlightenment.”
The video also features a cameo from legendary dancer and actor Mikhail Baryshnikov. Jon Fine directs. Watch it below.
