Michigan-based beat-maker SHIGETO has confirmed details for his new LP ‘No Better Time Than Now’, set for release through Ghostly International on August 19th.
Along with this news he reveals track ‘Detroit Part 1,’ which serves to bridge Shigeto's previous musical journeys to the new world of the new album.
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"2012 was a powerful year for me. I released my second LP; I played nearly 180 shows in 360 days; I made the move back home from Brooklyn, NY to Detroit, MI; a six-year relationship of mine came to an end and I made it 30 years on the planet."
The music of Zach Saginaw, aka Shigeto, has always been deeply rooted in his personal history. His debut EPs Semi-Circle and What We Held Onto explored his grandmother’s experience from a US internment camp through ambient, beat driven tracks, nostalgic melodies and spliced vocal samples, including his grandmother’s vocals.
His debut album Full Circle became a culmination of these EPs and further refinement of obsessive field recording and meticulous percussion, creating lush, sumptuous instrumental hip-hop. 2012’s sophomore album Lineage was a musical journey through his heritage combined with the sounds of jazz, hip-hop, funk and folk. The cover of his great grandfather's house in Hiroshima even adorned the Lineage artwork.
For all that Saginaw reveres his connections to his past, however, his new album seems very much about the idea of living in the moment. The signs of this idea are all over No Better Time Than Now— from the obvious connotations of the album title, through song titles that seem harbingers of change and immediacy ("First Saturn Return," "Soul Searching") to the music itself. It's an album that reflects a pivotal year in the life of its creator.
This sense of the restless vigor that change can bring is palpable throughout No Better Time Than Now. Fans of Shigeto's previous work will find all the hallmarks of his sound here — the warm, inviting washes of liquid synth sounds, the intricate production, the jazz-influenced arrangements. Now, however, they're imbued with a subtle energy — "Detroit Part 1," for instance, features a surprisingly pounding hip hop beat, while "Ringleader" is propelled by an insistent hi-hat pattern that sits slightly ahead of the beat, giving the track a driving mood that belies its tempo.
No Better Time Than Now tracklist:
First Saturn Return
Detroit Part 1
Ringleader
Perfect Crime
Olivia
Miss U
Ritual Howl
Soul Searching
Safe In Here
No Better Time Than Now
Silver Lining
Tell a Tale
Shigeto live dates:
07.11 Bordeaux, FR @ Hauts de Garonne Festival
07.12 Linz, AT @ Ottenheim Open Air
07.13 Prague, CZ @ Creepy Teepee Festival
07.17 Nijmegen, NL @ Valkhof Festival
07.18 Paris, FR @ Glazart w/ Come Truise
07.19 Ljubljana, SI @ TKNP Open Air Festival
07.21 Zadar, CR @ Soundwave Festival
07.28 Dufer, OR @ WTF Festival
09.25 Seattle, WA @ Decibel Festival
