my long long time favorite.
home/remote recording


Carpenters
Burt Bacharach/Hal David
1970

(They long to be) Close To You - cover

english x japanese ver.  from sydney time. 
英語と日本語かけあわせで演奏しました（卒業制作ライブより、シドニーにて）。

Wonderfulworld +ワンダフルワールド - Duet (cover/live)

斎藤あやこ(vocal/Aya Saito)
フィリップ・ストレンジ(pf/Phillip Strange)
荒玉哲郎 (bass/Tetsuro Aratama)
橋本現輝(drums/Genki Hashimoto)

single CD "String Of Songs" 2015
recording & mix in Japan (kasuga)

Nature Boy

So Many Stars

荒井由実  ひこうき雲  カバー  Hikokigumo (contrail)/Yumi Arai (Matsutoya)
同級生の突然の訃報。とはいえ高校を卒業して30年余り。遠く離れた地での告別式の時間、自分は作業場にいて、急に声になって出てきたユーミンの懐かしい歌。何度も何度も歌いました。写真はカリフォルニアの別の同級生のインスタから。彼女の告別式から何日か経ったあと、コロナで飛行機がまったく飛んでなかったのにひこうき雲が見えたと投稿。言葉にならない響きを感じて、歌が出てきたことはこういうことだったのかなと。同級生もまた亡くなった彼女のことを思って空をいつも以上に眺めていたそうです。コロナもそうだけど、与えられている命の時間を大切さを以前にも増して考えています。かの日の備忘録宅録。

ひこうき雲 (cover, raw home recording, unmixed)

A gentle, soothing voice that travels between vintage and modern in an effortless way.

Aya Saito - a late blooming, Japanese female vocalist, who enjoys a small yet deep universe of her neighborhood through music. Based in a beautiful port city of Kobe area, Japan. Exposed to multicultural environment throughout her life including UK, Congo, US, Australia, and without a doubt, her home country Japan. Her curiosity and love for music has stretched her appreciation of not just music, but other arts, diverse cultures, and perspectives for sensitivity, patience, and empathy (... confusion/recession/progress come hand in hand). 

Sydney, Australia was where her voice was trained and found as an instrument and her life began to steer in the direction of music slowly, totally unplanned.

Loves to be an instrument beyond genres. Mostly favored in jazz, bossa, and acoustic styles from timeless songs of old to contemporary. 

Publication: The Japanese translation of "Living With A Creative Mind" by Jeff Crabtree and Julie Crabtree (2011, Zebra Collective, Australia) from ARTES Publishing, a Tokyo based well-respected publisher on music of all genres for music lovers (2016).

Life: Juggling toothpicks.. an ordinary local just like anyone, trying to stay being creative and find ways for some expression somehow.

斎藤あやこ (Aya Saito)