Muses - "Blow Away!!" & "Scramble to Space" - First Reaction

[@hiawatha.g]

I don't think you have featured Rie before, so here is the backgrounder: Rie Tomimatsu (aka Rie aka Suzaku) was trained in classical guitar as a child, but found herself drawn to the sounds of jazz, metal and fusion. She struggled to find bandmates who liked these genres of music and were also willing to play with a girl. Eventually she founded her own bands, and eventually, her own record label. At 38, she is now one of the “senior statesmen” of modern electric guitar. She has lately shifted her focus almost entirely from rock to fusion. She has not said it directly, but it seems likely that this is simply because fusion presents a more of a technical challenge. In any case, whatever the reasons, it looks like a good choice for her. She has fronted several high-octane bands as well as collaborating with many of the top musicians in Japan on one-time projects. Her current project is a band called Muses, featuring an all-star cast of young phenoms: Juna Serita on bass Marie Fukai on keys Kanade Sato on drums They initially toured under Rie’s stage name (Rie aka Suzaku) before adopting the name “Muses. Here is a sampling of Rie’s work with various musicians: “Last Pirates” and “Jamaican Dream” (Originals, Jan 2022) Rie a.k.a. Suzaku (G) 深井麻梨恵 Marie Fukai (Kb) 星野李奈 Rina Hoshino (B) 佐藤 奏 Kanade Sato (Dr) This would be easy to call a supergroup if two of the members (Fukai and Sato) were not so young-they are barely out of their teens today. Hoshino guested with Rie several times, but more recently signed on full time with Tokyo Groove Jyoshi, replacing Juna Serita, who in turn joined Rie’s band to form Muses (more on them below). The two pieces come from opposite ends of the spectrum. “Pirates” is hard-driving, fast and technical, with shimmering harmonies between Rie’s guitar and Fukai’s keyboards. The middle-eastern scales give it an exotic, mysterious feel. “Dream” is slower, more playful, with a distinct Caribbean party vibe. Both songs merit an extra listen just to focus on Sato’s musical, understated drum lines. kzbin.info/www/bejne/m3mviaRvg8aCmsU “Ice World” (Original, June 2022) Rie a.k.a. Suzaku (G) 池尻喜子 Yoshiko Ikejiri (Kb) 池尻晴乃介 Harunosuke Ikejiri (B) 佐藤 奏 Kanade Sato (Dr) This piece exemplifies Rie’s approach to fusion-it is much more melodic and approachable than most 70’s fusion, closer to Return to Forever than to Mahavishnu Orchestra. It is also deceptively technical-the romantic, almost sentimental songwriting is underpinned by storms of notes that create the effect of thundershowers. The Ikejiris are wife and husband, keyboardist and bassist. They perform and record as Ikejirike, as well as collaborating with many of the top jazz and progressive metal artists in Japan. Sato-san turns in yet another high-touch drum solo, managing as usual to look like she’s thinking about what to have for dinner. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aKPMc4ZtgtuNrMU “Breaking the Limit” (Original, March 2023) Rie aka Suzaku, Guitars 池尻喜子(Yoshiko Ikejiri, Keys) 星野李奈 (Rina Hoshino, Bass) 川口千里 (Senri Kawaguchi, Drums) Another supergroup configuration, this time featuring the already legendary Senri Kawaguchi on drums. zapatosjam.substack.com/p/jazz-and-fusion-greats-5-senri-21-11-07 This is the closest thing to 70’s fusion out of the four selections here. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pp2mm2tmp6ybZqc “Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers” (Jeff Beck cover, Sept 2023) Muses Rie a.k.a. Suzaku (G) 深井麻梨恵 Marie Fukai (Kb) 芹田ジュナ Juna Serita (B) 佐藤 奏 Kanade Sato (Dr) Jeff Beck was one of the few rock musicians who successfully crossed over into fusion-most of the others came from the jazz or classical worlds. His success at doing so owes itself, I believe, to his incredible technical prowess and his endless inventiveness. He did something else that many of the fusion musicians couldn’t do: He broke through on the main Billboard charts. That probably owes itself to his having come from rock with an understanding of the sensibilities of rock and pop fans. Rie is one of the few guitarists with the skills and feel to take on something like Beck’s “Blow by Blow” album and actually add a little mustard while keeping the original emotional ambience. “Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers” is probably the best known piece from that album. This clip is from an entire evening devoted to covering Beck’s compositions. Juna Serita (known as The Princess of Funk) replaced Rina Hoshino in Rie’s band, and they collectively adopted the name “Muses” to emphasize that it’s not just one star with backing musicians. (Hoshino, meanwhile, traded places with Serita, joining the latter’s previous group Tokyo Groove Jyoshi.) kzbin.info/www/bejne/jILGaGZrj8yWn7M

[@christiancouvidou4777]

👍 When Rie was a student, she applied for Marty Friedman's seminar hosted by Music Institut JAPAN, and she won it . They also had a guitar session together (Jackson Guitars Japan / 2022 May) 1998 : 29th National Guitar Competition Gold Prize. Gold medal in the 2000 All Japan Guitar Festival Ensemble Division.

[@hiawatha.g]

@@christiancouvidou4777 Great info, thanks!

[@ericdarlington2332]

❤❤❤❤🤘🤘🤘🤘especially in the second song i was reminded of Jeff Beck that song would have fit perfectly on his "Wired " album , one of my all time favorite albums this was very cool I miss that type of fusion rock

[@homegnome2429]

I’m assuming you know, but in case you don’t- Muses / Rie have a few Jeff Beck covers available here so I assume he’s an influence

[@ericdarlington2332]

@@homegnome2429 no I didn't know but as a guitar player and big jeff Beck fan it was obvious to me this was the first time i had heard them I liked them a lot

[@homegnome2429]

Ok cool. You can find them either on Muses channel or PoppinRecords channel which is Rie the guitar player’s channel.

[@RockCandy-ix3nn]

The one riff I was thinking of comes from Foo Fighters' "Times Like These".

[@ericdarlington2332]

@@RockCandy-ix3nn different ears different results lol I hear Jeff Beck then again i am not familiar enough with the Foo Fighters to have made that comparison

[@homegnome2429]

Glad you enjoyed this - I know you've been appreciating Kanade in Koiai and this is where I first heard her. Juna led me to Muses - she's a rabbit hole all of her own - her work in Tokyo Groove Jyoshi and Jazz Avengers is also well worth checking out. Marie on the keys also very cool - love how much spotlight the keys get in this band.

[@michaelmunno]

aye, 100% love Muses, TGJ & The Jazz Avengers. so much good music and amazing talent. R.I.E. has been around a long time and love how she has helped so many young musicians have a place to grow. She's under-rated with her own style and gets criticized way more than she deserves. I have followed her for a long time. pure awesome.

[@homegnome2429]

@@michaelmunno R.I.E is the main writer for Muses as far as I understand? My main preference in music is piano and bass, but yeah love her guitar work in this style

[@michaelmunno]

@@homegnome2429 yes, Rie a.k.a. Suzaka (リエ エー・ケー・エー スザク) composes from keyboards, originally mostly heavy metal, I believe I first heard some of her early work around 2014? but her first album was 2010 ish.

[@michaelmunno]

@@homegnome2429 she's also one of the first Japanese musicians that followed me before I followed her on twitter. she's a really sweet soul

[@anthonypowell6234]

Juna Serita and the Sexy Beans made it to Birmingham, AL back in 2021, and I had to miss it at the last minute!😭

[@christiancouvidou4777]

Blow Away : Music by Masanori Sato (Executive producer, Drum Tech !..) Scramble to Space : Music by Rie a.k.a. Suzaku (Sound producer)