First single from the upcoming album "We Could Be Friends," out April 28.

We Could Be Friends - Single Version

when I drink coffee
I feel amazing
my mind is a luxury car
I'll win an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, a Tony
garnish with a Michelin Star
I'd do it all
a supernova
I'd read Jean-Paul and speed run the MoMA
I would be history on horseback right from the sofa
all I'd have to do is talk
but all I do is talk

so let me talk about the world let me talk about the biz
I would say what we should do but no I don't know who we is
now the words are coming out but it's all pulp theory again

you hear about that movie
well I haven't seen it
but I've heard a lot of talk about it
and all the talking and talking and talking and talking
tells me how to talk about it
cause I've seen it all
unless I haven't
and even then I've already reacted
I should be history on horseback but I'm so distracted
all I ever do, all I ever do

is talk about the world talk about the biz
say what we should do, don't know who we is
now the words are coming out but it's all pulp theory again

when I drink coffee
I get so tired
my mind is drying up like tar
I'll watch the Emmys, the Grammys, the Oscars, the Tonys
people who were born to be stars
if I did it all
a supernova
I'd read Jean-Paul and speed run the MoMA
I would be history on horseback right from the sofa
and all I'd have to do is talk

Coffee

I woke up in the morning with a sinkhole in my chest
from a dream where we forgave each other
and I’m ashamed to say it’s not the first and not the second either
time I took most of the morning to recover
but I swear to God my life is only getting better
and all these memories are just a guilty pleasure

and people like us are the reason
that people have to study game theory
it’s just a little bit of pride but it comes at the cost
of everything that we used to hold dearly

So, so what I miss you
yeah it’s a sorry state I’m in
But that’s not the issue
What I want to know is who’s gonna win
Cause I’ve never wavered, much,
And if I did go on show me the proof
And while you’re at it
It’d be nice to hear from you

I caught up with a friend of ours who only meant the best
but he mentioned that you had some troubles
and I’m ashamed to say although I truly wish you peace and gladness
I’m relieved to hear it’s been a struggle
I swear whatever your intentions mine were better
or this made cowards of us both in equal measure

and people like us are the reason
that people have to study game theory
it’s just a little bit of pride but it comes at the cost
of everything we used to hold dearly

So so what I miss you
It’s a sorry state I’m in
But that’s not the issue
What I want to know is who’s gonna win
Cause I’ve never waver, much,
And if I do go and show me the proof


So so what I miss you
It’s a sorry state I’m in
But that’s not the issue
What I want to know is who’s gonna win
Cause I’ve never wavered… much
And if I did, go on show me the proof
and while you're at it
it'd be nice to hear from you
it'd be nice to hear from you

Game Theory

With the way you treat your lovers
and your hobbies, and your friends
I hope you're writing your whole life off
as another business expense
I know you pride yourself for your freedom
no there ain't nothing tying you down
nothing to hold you to the tightrope
but the distance from the ground

but don't you get tired of waiting
don't you get tired of saying
in another world we could be friends
and don't you think we oughta find where that one starts
or at least where this one ends

and then you're giving up friends over circumstances
sacrificing love for shame
you lose some good people over conversations
that you didn't want to entertain
wouldn't want to bother anybody
shouldn't bother getting out of bed
managing your risk exposure
you know that life's a common cause of death

but don't you get tired of waiting
don't you get tired of saying
in another world we could be friends
and don't you think we oughta find where that one starts
or at least where this one ends

but don't you know the king lives on credit
and all the supermen are levered to the hilt
well you and I don't have to rule the world
not today
but a little bit of faith could get us over the hill

and with the way you treat your lovers
and your hobbies and your friends
I hope you're writing your whole life off
as another business expense
now you could risk it all today
or you could lose it bit by bit
never was a guarantee
just some time and then that's it

We Could Be Friends

It’s been about a decade since I’ve seen you very much
We can’t pretend that things haven’t changed
But if you’ve been begging the world for forgiveness
You know I’ve never blamed on you what you became

I’ve cursed the time for taking you out of my reach
Cried the night till it gave into the day
And all the times I held my tongue
When you were right in front of me
To think I’d spare us the impropriety

And now I’d be far too ashamed, to try to reach you
and make a lie of all these years
So to all you noble soldiers with a brave face on your shield
Will you carry it to your grave or will you yield

Long Time No See

The man who loves you isn’t dead
He still drives my car, still sleeps in my bed
The man who misses you, I see him all the time,
We meet up on the back of spoons and windows late at night
The man I wish I wasn’t anymore,
Well he’s not going anywhere
I’ve tried to show him the door

On lonely nights I’ve tried to lose him in the dark
I’ve worn disguises,  traveled wide and far
Played a lot of characters, tried to go method
But did the man who loves you even flicker for a second
sometimes I wonder why I try

the man who loves you could use some rest
His eyes are glazing over, no he ain’t looking his best
The man who misses you is losing track of time,
The days blur into hours, and the hours blur into wine
The man who oughta take it easy now
Well he says he’ll go anywhere
Let’s spend the night on the town

On lonely nights I tried to lose him in the dark
I’ve worn disguises, traveled wide and far
Played a lot of characters and tried to go method
But did the man who loves you ever flicker for a second

sometimes I wonder why I try
why it feels like such a crime
to love more than you're given
to hold secrets in your mind
but I'll try, try to be good
not to spill on passersby
not to beg you for your heart
or burden you with mine

but the man who loves you isn’t dead
He’s just a bit hungover, would you please turn off the lights
The man who misses you is hoping for things to change
The night was young a while ago, but now it can’t remember its age
The man I wish I wasn’t anymore
Well he’s not going anywhere
Not until I brush my teeth and get dressed

The Man Who Loves You

I was singing Hungry Heart at a bar in Vermont
Last song before the bar was closing
There ain’t no future out the way that we’re goin
Borrowed another generations emotions

Road rage and shopping cart collisions
Righteousness and right of way
You could be anyone but hey listen up
Cause boy have I got something to say

Can you believe what’s going on these days
Man is everybody crazy ‘cept for me
Once upon a time we were a forest
now we're just a number of trees
People white knuckle what they still hold dear
It’s a reactionary year
There’s tooth decay in the mouth of the world
And none of my friends are here

So maybe we should have given up more
used all our loving for what loving’s for
took off our jackets and forgot to keep score
for a minute let our eyes off the door

I was singing hungry heart at a bar in Shibuya
some things don’t really need that much translation
Nothing to run from, nowhere to go
ain’t nothing new about Japanification

road rage and shopping cart collisions
righteousness and right of way
you could be anyone but hey, listen up
cause boy have I got something to say

can you believe what's going on these days
man is everybody crazy 'cept for me
once upon a time we were a forest
now we're just a number of trees
people white-knuckle what they still hold dear
it's a reactionary year
there's tooth decay in the mouth of the world
and none of my friends are here

so maybe we oughta give it up more
use all our loving on what loving's for
take off our jackets and forget to keep score
for a moment let our eyes off the door

A Reactionary Year

when the land splits in half beneath your feet
and I wonder, are you still gonna stick with me
I know it's not your heart, not your heart that chooses
when you're jumping to the side that you can reach

well I've seen enough to know it isn't long
between changing stripes, watching right turn wrong
I'd never want to leave your side
but everybody's gotta survive
and fight their fight wherever the lines are drawn

one time I got in on the ground floor
I was saying things that people never said before
I was on top of the world and so I couldn't feel it changing
till nobody was listening anymore

just another rat race veteran
I ain't proud of who I had to be
sometimes I knew that I was playing a part
sometimes it got the better of me
sometimes, sometimes, I took it all personally
sometimes, sometimes, I was in the middle, exchanging cruelties
between all the other rat race veterans
like me
like me

well I'm sure I look like a liar or a fool
to say forever all the times that I do
well maybe I'll never learn
if I mean it every time
when God only knows the things that we'll go through

as the flames rise higher in an algorithmic fire
watching angels turn to liars playing angles as they turn
the hundredth time it's hard to stay concerned
it's water under bridges long since burned

as the light shine brighter in an algorithmic fire
and our fugitive desires have nowhere left to turn
well I've lost track of what everyone deserves
it's water under bridges long since burned

just another rat race veteran
I ain't proud of who I had to be
sometimes I knew that I was playing a part
sometimes it got the better of me
sometimes, sometimes, I took it all personally
sometimes, sometimes, I was in the middle exchanging cruelties
between all the other rat race veterans
between all the other rat race veterans like me

Rat Race

Maybe there ain't no world for our love
I know there ain’t been time or place
But I still love you my darling, and I miss you my friends
And sometimes baby I just don’t care what it takes

Maybe there ain't no difference that we can make
a world of trouble's a world of shame
maybe heaven's forever all those light years away
and nothing I can do would make you stay

no there ain't no justice
in anything about love
if it hurts not to touch you
then the world's not enough
I know that nothing lasts forever 
I’m only asking you for today
if that's alright with you
if that's okay

So maybe there ain't no future where we remain
and our end's within us lying in wait
tell me what would you want from me, what would you change
If everything would always end the same

no there ain't no justice
in anything about love
if it hurts not to touch you
then the world's not enough
I know that nothing lasts forever 
I'm only I'm asking you for today
if that's alright with you
if that's okay

Did everybody else get hurt the same in these last odd years
seems like everybody’s shadowboxing old friends in a hall of mirrors
I can hear it in the words we say
Still feels like it was yesterday
such beautiful promises that never took us away

And with the way you treat your lovers
And your hobbies and your friends
I know I’ve done the same
I can't always be that brave
and then the ghost of all I’ve ruined
Stares unblinking in my face
with all I’ve tried to hold that's surely slipped away
oh you must be love
born of a stray
Still I’ll follow you
Take me wherever you may
and still I’ll try to follow you
today

Alessandro Takeshi

Today

words and music written, arranged, recorded, and produced by alessandro takeshi 

drums (tracks 2, 4, 6, 8) by eli cohen 
drums (tracks 2, 4, 8) recorded at keep the edge studios 
engineered by oxy xian you ong 

album art by alessandro takeshi 
cover typography by lajka

Heartbreak B&B

Death 999

Late at night in a close-packed piano bar in Tokyo, Alessandro Takeshi, an experimental electronic musician from rural Maine, was rediscovering more than just his heritage. He had recently moved to Japan to reconnect with his roots, sold the synthesizers and samplers he had wielded to wreak musical chaos in DIY venues across New England, and began a musical transformation as dramatic as his change of address. Born in the smoky acoustic taverns dotting Tokyo, "We Could Be Friends," finds the musician in a rare singer-songwriter form, unearthing the musical techniques he had trained in as a young composer and spent the following years gleefully destroying. Virtuosic piano playing and a sophisticated harmonic vocabulary reminiscent of jazz standards bring a rich color palette to his incisive lyrics, animating them in all their modern nuance. 

"In both the US and Japan you have these highly advanced economies that are stagnating, either shrinking or selling off its parts," he observed. "Maybe for older generations it's a phenomenon you read about in the news, but for the younger generations there’s this ambient unease that permeates our way of thinking, how we imagine ourselves, and how we build relationships with each other." Through stories detailing those relationships — and how they fall apart — Takeshi brings a worldly voice and rarefied songwriting craftsmanship to render his generation's idiosyncratic perspective into a timeless sound. 

He has performed regularly in both the US and Japan, and his classical compositions were recently featured on the popular history podcast “Hell On Earth.”

Alessandro Takeshi

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