Liner notes from the Japanese release of Piano Foreplay

*Thanks to my Japanese Friend Isao for always being there and never saying no! He translated the liner notes into English. I've changed just a few words!

Music is my life......

e started to compose the songs for this album after the promotion of "Irlish." The production was started around the beginning of 2002 and was finished around the middle of March 2003. The recording itself was done around August and September in 2002. I know very well how to produce the album because I’ve been working for 30 years. I enjoy the recording process. I like to record the songs as well as to compose them. Unlike “Irlish”, I didn’t use drum machines synthesizers and so on and I recorded the songs of the album “live.” Basically, I performed the songs with the musicians together. That is the biggest difference from “Irlish.”

I wanted to record this album live but it doesn’t mean I dislike synthesizer drum machines. I would do the next recording differently from this album.

In my opinion, the songwriter must be satisfied with all the songs that he or she creates. If you don’t like the song, you would change the melody or lyrics till you are satisfied, or you would not include the song on the album. So I’m satisfied with all my songs.

Usually I create the song titles first before I start to compose. The tile of "Conversation With The Flying Plates" occurred to me and I thought it was a good title. My wife denied the content of these lyrics (she has no such experiences). I wrote these lyrics from observing today’s world. But I also like the others on this album, so I can’t say this one is my favorite.

I compose songs based on some idea, so I’m a traditional composer. I usually don’t answer the question: is the song personal? It is more important for me to make the listeners understand the meaning of the lyrics than to answer the question if the song is composed based on my personal experience.

I have not had a song-writing slump. The reason some songwriters have such experiences is that he or she tries to be inspired under pressure. I always enjoy the songwriting process and I like it very much. However, my songs are not always good. What matters is not that you are in a slump but how many good songs you create in a given time. So I try to continue writing songs, not to wait for inspiration. Creating songs is a very personal process. When I compose songs, I am confined to my room all day with just a piano and notebooks. As a famous songwriter said, music is inspiration and perspiration. When I write lyrics, I need both. I get the title of the lyrics and finish the writing around one to two weeks. But creating songs is easier and I try to do that. If you are not interested in today’s music, you can’t get along in the music business. So I listen to all kinds of music. Actually, I’m dying to know what younger musicians are doing now and what they are making. I can always find something interesting in such music, for instance, Christina Aguilera, Red Hot Chili Peppers, David Gray and Limp Bizkit.

Music is my life. You can’t make music with passion. All music gives me is just affection for music. I can go to a completely different world with music. As time goes by, music is becoming more important to me. I enjoy making music all the time. If music becomes boring to me, I’ll quit. Music doesn’t mean much to me when it is just a job. Success means I can create a good song, not that the song sells well.