"Ballad of the Forest - Ghibli Songs on Guitar" is a warm and heartwarming collection of Ghibli song covers featuring famous Studio Ghibli songs played only on acoustic guitar (gut guitar).

This album was created by Naganori Sakakibara, the "soothing guitarist" who played mellow guitar on the long-selling album "Night Cafe - Relaxing Time," and it took him two and a half months to pursue the worldview of Ghibli and the "soothing sound" of a gut guitar.

This time, we spoke to him and production producer Kunihito Ikeda about the behind-the-scenes story of the production.

Today's special guest is the soothing guitarist, Naganori Sakakibara

As I pursued sounds that attracted me and that I could be satisfied with, I naturally began to produce healing tones. In the past, I played electric guitar, folk guitar, mandolin, etc., but after a series of shifts in my approach, I now play the gut guitar as my main instrument. I perform solo concerts, participate in acoustic concerts, and sometimes perform in expressive settings such as recitations.

What does "healing" mean to you, Sakakibara?

 --This time, your album will be released by Dela, a company famous for its soothing music. What does "healing" mean to you, Sakakibara?

Sakakibara:
I live on the first floor of a housing complex, where there is lots of grass and trees, and the faint smell of the soil and grass is soothing. The comfort I feel from being surrounded by nature is a great source of healing for me .

Although we may feel a sense of awe towards nature, nature does not inspire us with unhealthy fear. We are able to distance ourselves from the irrationality and distortions created by human civilization, and we feel our minds becoming more regulated.

When I try strumming my guitar while listening to pleasant natural sounds, such as leaves rustling in the breeze or insects chirping, I often find that the sound of the guitar gets in the way, which can be quite shocking for a guitarist.

Unless you pluck more gently and delicately, you will destroy the pleasantness of the natural sounds...
I believe that experiences like this are an effective way to cultivate the healing power that resides in the sound of the guitar .

Editorial Department:
As with nature, it may make a difference whether or not you have an antenna for picking up on the "healing" that exists in your daily life, and whether or not you are aware of it.

The feeling of creating a song by connecting lingering impressions

 --Mr. Sakakibara's works are characterized by their lingering echoes. What are your thoughts when you perform them?

Sakakibara:
I personally like the "afterglow" and cherish it . When the sound fades away, it becomes hazy, and when the speed slows down, there is something soothing and soothing. To avoid it feeling noisy, leave plenty of space. I realized at one point that afterglow is an important element.

The guitar is a "decaying instrument" as opposed to a "sustaining instrument," meaning that it produces a sound first and then the sound fades away.

To put it in an analogy, it's like falling asleep. Adding sound to that is like the image of water dripping.

In other words, a song is made up of the overlapping of various sounds at different times. It's like connecting the lingering sounds to create a song .

There is also something about the afterglow that reminds us of a different landscape. In the quiet afterglow, each person suddenly recalls a scene, a smell, or a sound.

I think my music has the meaning of an "introduction."

Producer Ikeda:
After listening to Sakakibara's original CD "Kimi to Boku," which is filled with his "ideals" and "true self," we consulted him about this development.

This time's " Forest Ballad - Ghibli Songs on Guitar" is a record that is filled with a very deep resonance, with those "lingering echoes" and "reverberations."

 -What did you think when you were asked to create this film?

Sakakibara:
Producer Ikeda-san listened to my solo album, which is composed of solo gut guitar accompaniments, and approached me, saying, "I'd like to do a Ghibli cover with this kind of worldview," which I felt was a great honor.

Solo playing makes finger movement very difficult, but each pluck is fully exposed, so the feelings the player has put into the sound are conveyed directly .

However, all of the Ghibli songs are full-length and originally had lyrics, so I thought it would be difficult to express them using only solo instruments .

Mr. Sakakibara carefully chooses each word he says as he speaks.

All 15 songs, so that you can listen to them until the end

--What were the things you focused on and the most difficult parts of the production?

Sakakibara:
There are 15 songs in total. I thought it would be impossible to create 15 full-length songs with only solos that would keep the listener entertained.

This would mean overdubbing multiple parts, but I was concerned that if I just created an ensemble of accompaniment and melody parts, it would be too easy to create and would end up being a mundane piece.

First, I challenged myself to see how much of each song I could express solo.

I tried everything I could think of, changing the expression and chords, changing the range, and as a result, some songs were completed as whole solo pieces, while others added a second part with just a little nuance. I ended up with a variety of pieces, including one that was all multi-part from the intro, and one that ended up with eight layers of parts to really enhance the expression.

I wanted it to have as much of a "handmade" feel as possible , so I played without using a click, relying on my emotions and making the most of the subtle fluctuations in tempo .

It's very difficult to layer another part on top of a fluctuating part, and there were many times when I couldn't complete just eight bars even after spending a whole day on it.

Also, by expressing it using only one tone of one instrument, even in scenes with many parts, the overall feel is like a solo performance .

By going through these steps, I tried to enter a state of introspection and continued to search for sounds that would touch my heartstrings, even if just a little .

In order to link the plucking fingertips with the deepest part of your heart, you need to open up your mind and expose the pure part of yourself in order to create a sound that moves you to tears.

I felt very vulnerable and defenseless, so I just stayed home and continued working.

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In the next article, we will introduce the highlights of the piece and the message conveyed in the gut guitar performance. Stay tuned! >>> Read the second article

Ballad of the Forest - Ghibli Song on Guitar

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