Dustin Wong & Takako Minekawa

The sounds of Dustin Wong & Takako Minekawa are a coalescence of the complexities of life, with the sheer joy of imaginative creation. Are Euphoria continues to dive deeper into the dreamlike technicolor tapestries their songs have always explored, blossoming forward with each cycle of loops. Completely characteristic of their style, Wong and Minekawa achieve a density of textures, timbres, beats, and harmonies while remaining totally weightless, suspended in the air.

Music in Japanese is written in two words, sound and enjoyment. Counterpoint, dissonance, odd time signatures - when all these things accumulate and coalesce in interesting and harmonious ways, it is like hearing or seeing an idyllic perception of Humanity. Like a curving line that streams up in to the sky, like a flock of birds or a school of fish, the directions and shapes change in seemingly random ways, yet create patterns that dance and seduce consciousness.

Every beat, melody, is a unique metaphor to each individual. The variety of peoples, cultures, religions, thoughts, hobbies, races, these differences molten together, the differences are the elements needed in creating harmony. The same sound on top of the same sound doesn't form harmonies. Harmony is created by differences. Depending on the desires and sentiments that go into sound, the music changes, the power of the individual's metaphor and imagination can take the listener to profound distances. Each person's impression, are all unique and completely limitless.

Are Euphoria is deeply influenced by a branch of “fusion" that is more about creating a world rather than focusing on performance or technical dexterity. Musicians like Yasuaki Shimizu, Motohiko Hamase, Mono Fontana, Joe Zawinul, Steve Shehan, and many others that were able to create musical environments helped to inspire the worlds created on Are Euphoria.

Takako Minekawa and Dustin Wong, sought out Co La (Matthew Papich) to co-produce the album, due to his unique ability to place sounds and build compositions, which is leading a new type of expression in music. His surreal and conceptual approach made for a perfect combination with worlds created by the songs on Are Euphoria.

Based in Tokyo Japan, Wong and Minekawa are part of a growing DIY community, frequently performing in smaller spaces such as Nanahari, Fuchi-kuchi, and Ochiai Soup. Their artistic focus is to create the unexpected. It is a scene that encourages this adventurousness. Wong and Minekawa use their considerable technical skill to create the psychedelic, surreal, and conceptual, and with dexterity and inventiveness. While Minekawa still contributes to J-Pop releases and Wong is still connected to his Baltimore roots, their joyous collaboration is as delightful and challenging as it is innovative.