Haino sings and Hasunuma plays the instruments. It’s a very simple collaboration. And yet, the result is an album that brilliantly captures the haunting and complex interplay of Haino’s resonant vocals with Hasunuma’s lyrical soundscapes, created with a wide array of instruments from electric guitar, piano, and field recordings, to an assortment of synthesizers from vintage analog to the latest digital consoles.
Haino and Hasunuma first met in Shibuya on November 15, 2017. Their unplanned performance began spontaneously as Hasunuma began conjuring otherworldly sounds from a single Buchla Music Easel modular synthesizer, and Haino responded by singing the Japanese national anthem “Kimigayo.” It was this moment when the unlikely collaboration began.
In 2018 Haino appeared at the Hasunuma-organized event “MUSIC TODAY IN KYOTO” at Rohm Theater, alongside Nobukazu Takemura, Manami Kakudo, Elena Tutatchikova, Kukangendai among others. In September 2021 during the pandemic, the two performed "U TA" for the first time at WWW in Shibuya. They began planning the album soon afterwards.
In 2023 Haino and Hasunuma collaborated for a sound performance at the Tadanori Yokoo Museum of Contemporary Art in Kobe, and in 2024 they performed inside the Tunnel of Love on the uninhabited island of Sarushima in Yokosuka. The mutual trust developed from performing together regularly over the past few years culminated in the album U TA in 2025.
For the recording of U TA, Haino entered the studio with only the lyrics in hand, with no knowledge of what sounds Hasunuma would produce. Responding to Hasunuma’s music in real time, Haino composed the melodies and layered in his voice on the spot. With additional sessions at Hasunuma’s private studio and Haino’s preferred studio, the album was completed.
Tracklist:
1. 空 Sky
2. 休 Rest
3. 噴 Gush
4. 数 Number
5. 間 Pause
6. 溢れ出る微笑みの雫たちがおりてくる Drops of overflowing smiles are falling
7. 景 Scape
8. 人 People
9. 指 Finger
10. 潜 Latency
Haino and Hasunuma first met in Shibuya on November 15, 2017. Their unplanned performance began spontaneously as Hasunuma began conjuring otherworldly sounds from a single Buchla Music Easel modular synthesizer, and Haino responded by singing the Japanese national anthem “Kimigayo.” It was this moment when the unlikely collaboration began.
In 2018 Haino appeared at the Hasunuma-organized event “MUSIC TODAY IN KYOTO” at Rohm Theater, alongside Nobukazu Takemura, Manami Kakudo, Elena Tutatchikova, Kukangendai among others. In September 2021 during the pandemic, the two performed "U TA" for the first time at WWW in Shibuya. They began planning the album soon afterwards.
In 2023 Haino and Hasunuma collaborated for a sound performance at the Tadanori Yokoo Museum of Contemporary Art in Kobe, and in 2024 they performed inside the Tunnel of Love on the uninhabited island of Sarushima in Yokosuka. The mutual trust developed from performing together regularly over the past few years culminated in the album U TA in 2025.
For the recording of U TA, Haino entered the studio with only the lyrics in hand, with no knowledge of what sounds Hasunuma would produce. Responding to Hasunuma’s music in real time, Haino composed the melodies and layered in his voice on the spot. With additional sessions at Hasunuma’s private studio and Haino’s preferred studio, the album was completed.
Tracklist:
1. 空 Sky
2. 休 Rest
3. 噴 Gush
4. 数 Number
5. 間 Pause
6. 溢れ出る微笑みの雫たちがおりてくる Drops of overflowing smiles are falling
7. 景 Scape
8. 人 People
9. 指 Finger
10. 潜 Latency