THROUGH GLASS
by MAX DEVEREAUX & KAZUYA ISHIGAMI

released July 15, 2025

Digital Album  $2 USD  or more
edition of 25 Cassette  $6 USD or more 

1.FRIED GRASSHOPPERS 03:53
2.GALVANIZED STEEL TUB 03:10
3.PARTICULATES 04:33
4.SHED FESTIVAL 05:03
5.RIVER OF RAZORS 02:17
6.CORRUPT WIND-UP 04:48
7.THROUGH GLASS 05:54
8.THE LOWEST CHAMBER 05:29
9.WORKING TO RETURN 06:09

Side A : 1-5
Side B : 6-9


Through Glass is the result of a deeply collaborative and cross-continental experiment between Japanese electroacoustic composer Kazuya Ishigami and American multidisciplinary artist Max Devereaux. Rooted in contrasting yet complementary approaches, the project unfolds as a dialogue between structured sound design and spontaneous sonic exploration.

The process began with Kazuya Ishigami, who created a series of intricate sound materials, merging electroacoustic textures, noise fragments, and ambient field recordings. These materials were then sent to Max Devereaux, who layered, reinterpreted, and expanded upon them through improvisation, using field recordings, found objects, contact microphones, and modular synthesizers. Max's additions reflect his tactile and often textural approach, combining environmental sounds and lo-fi textures with gestures that evoke both intimacy and sweeping activity.

The recordings passed once more into Ishigami's hands, where he carefully deconstructed and reassembled the sound elements into finished compositions. His final edits shaped the album into a cohesive whole, blending raw improvisation with composed electroacoustic precision. He also oversaw the mastering process.

The album’s title was chosen by Devereaux, reflecting a feeling he has carried for much of his life as an artist, especially one working within the avant-garde. To him, creating art often feels like living behind glass: present but removed, able to observe and reflect the world with clarity, yet never fully immersed in it. This invisible barrier separates the artist from society, allowing vision without contact, insight without belonging. The music on the album, with its delicate, translucent textures and fleeting glimpses of human presence, seemed to embody this sensation perfectly, like watching life unfold just beyond reach.


WORKING TO RETURN

KAZUYA ISHIGAMI, is composer, sound designer, sound performer and sound engineer born in 1972, in Osaka/JAPAN. He learned electro-acoustic music composition at INA-GRM in 1997. His pieces were performed at DR(DeutschlandRadio/Germnay) ,WDR(westdeutscher rundfunk/Germany), CCMC(Japan), JSEM(Japan), FUTURA(France), MUSLAB(Mexico), SR(Radio Saarbruecken/Germany), HR(Hessischer Rundfunk/Germany), ISCM(Stuttgart/Germany), Spark(USA), NICOGRAPH(Japan), SILENCE(Italy), VII International FKL-Symposium(Italy),  ICMC(2015_USA/TEXAS)  and so on. He has an independent label “NEUS-318”.