Fog On The Lens, by Tomo Nakayama

Fog On The Lens

by Tomo Nakayama

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Rita Easy and such a chill music, like walking in the river or sitting on a grass in summer time. Brings me nostalgia for summer days in nature.

Charles Fikes I actually tripped over this song and searched out the cd on Amazon, to discover they could only get it from Japan at three times the price. Favorite track: Cold Clear Moon.

Anne Walsh So refreshing to hear new music like this. I am in love with this music and cannot wait for the whole album.

Xicotencatl Hauntingly beautiful, I have been coming back to this album for 3 years now and I have yet to grow tired of this incredible piece of art. Favorite track: Off the Grid.

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Compact Disc of "Fog On The Lens" with artwork by Frida Clements and photography by Alicia Palaniuk.

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Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Apple Tree, Live at the Duck Room, 04/26/2019, On the Way, Live at Home, Tick Tock (Acoustic), Paper Snowflakes, With the Radio On, Melonday, and 11 more. , and , .

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1.	Fog on the Lens 03:41	lyrics	buy track
Open my eyes to the light of the morning You made a sound as the song it was forming Fog on the lens, little signals they bend in the air I rest my head on the ground for a moment I trace the shapes in the sky for a moment Fog on the lens, I'm alone at the end of the world Fog on the lens, I'm a speck when the moment's rehearsed All in a light, all alive All in a light, all is alive So if you return to the song of the morning Let's sing it again but this time with more feeling.
2.	Fallen Cedar 02:53	lyrics	buy track
Walk along the riverside Who knows where the sun will guide me I will leave the day behind Who knows where the evening finds me Oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh oh oh I will read by candlelight I will bathe in cold clear water I will kiss the moon so bright Soon I will be dreaming of her Oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh oh oh Climbed atop the highest hill Count the rings on fallen cedar All around her growing still All her sons and all her daughters Oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh oh oh Evergreens come cover me Return me to the sky Soon I'll be a memory Who asked the reason why, the reason why Grateful for the life we're in Grateful for the second chances Like the branch against the wind How he bends, but still he dances Oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh oh oh Walk along the riverside Who knows where the sun will guide me I will leave my cares behind Who knows where tomorrow finds me Oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh oh oh
3.	Green World 03:44	lyrics	buy track
Since I got to you baby, I’m an empty can of coke Just a toss on the sidewalk from an old forgotten joke There’s miles of open real estate most everywhere I go Ain’t nobody living here that you need to know Saw a young man bent over with a bucket full of birds An old man all broken, pointing muzzles at the herd Since I got to you baby, I’m the lining on your coat All pressed down and faded, too thin to keep you warm There is no beginning And there is no end Just metals spinning A song with no end, a song with no end On a snow covered hillside lay puddles made of blood The circles mark places to be washed before the flood Since I got to you baby, I’m the whitest cloud around You see what you want in me while you’re lying on the ground Since I got to you baby, I’m the darkest cloud around You see what you want in me while you’re lying on the ground
4.	Magnolias (for Philip) 04:45	lyrics	buy track
Take a walk in the dark Snow will fall in Central Park It’s getting late, it’s getting late Hard of hearing, out of sight Oh hard hearted appetite Now where to go, where to go Sometimes it’s hard to know Whom you are waiting for When eaters and feeders look the same Called upon your only friend Does no one answer their phones these days? Now what to do, what to do Scraping off your face in the mirror Guess you’ll fall asleep right here On the floor, on the floor All debts are piling up Time is an empty cup The past and the future look the same Someday we’ll find you there Magnolias in your hair And all along I knew You would be leaving soon Someday they’ll find you there Magnolias in your hair And all along I knew You would be leaving soon Can’t out run the shadows...
5.	Nightingale 04:27	lyrics	buy track
I seen blues and silvers all dancing into each other Wide eyed elderflowers all blooming unto the heather All these summer days of gold On waves that come and go Meet me by the road that leads Out to where the earth will find the sea And like drops of water go rippling out in the distance Blurred out photographs of each every moment we’re missing Guess I’ll always be surprised By how morning fills our eyes If memory serves, and memory leaves You deserve to live this life complete Oh my lonesome stranger Let all our days begin We’ll call in the hallways Fill the spaces in between No more spaces in between Come along nightingale, nightingale Further on starlings sail in the vale I’ll be home wherever you are Fill the spaces in between No more spaces in between Come along nightingale, nightingale Further on starlings sing in the vale You’ll be home wherever we are With a word our day begins With a love our life begins With your word my day begins With your love my life begins With your word my day begins With your love my life begins
6.	Cold Clear Moon 03:39	lyrics
There by the light of the morning dew There by the light of the afternoon There by the light of the cold clear moon There by the light of the afternoon I love you always I love you always Then if I saw you would you feel the same Then if I saw you would you know my name There by the light of the cold clear moon There by the light of the afternoon I love you always I love you always And I all I see is you All I see is you Always
7.	Shadows 05:31	lyrics	buy track
Phantom breeze casting shadows on the leaves Through these trees someone out there calls for me A ghostly sight, I can see the river flowing into thee A ghostly light, I can see the river flowing into thee And I breathe, embers glowing underneath Deep blue sea, someone out there waits for me A ghostly sight, I can see the river flowing into thee In pale moonlight, I can see the river flowing into thee All alone, all alone You can dance, you can dance You can dance like there’s no one there Phantom breeze casting shadows on the leaves Deep blue sea, someone out there longs for me All alone, all alone You can dance, you can dance You can dance like there’s no one there You can dance, you can dance You can dance like there’s no one there You can sing, you can sing You can sing like there’s no one listening
8.	Darkest of Seasons 03:21	lyrics	buy track
Mother did I hear you pray Brother do you know the way I’ve been meaning to reach out to you Heard you talking in your dreams Love, although I know it seems All we’re doing here is dangling There’s a light at the end of the gray ‘Cos you know it is true what they say It’s the darkest of seasons when we only have rain Though it’s hard to remember There’s a light at the end of the gray Daughter do you see the road Many miles before we go There’s a forest where the trees do grow There’ll be evenings in the clouds Times when people let you down Times you’re singing just to drown it out But there’s a light at the end of the gray ‘Cos you know it is true what they say There’s a hope beyond reason in the love we have made Though it’s hard to remember There’s a light at the end of the gray There’s a light at the end of the gray ‘Cos you know it is true what they say It’s the darkest of seasons before we have MayThough it’s hard to remember There’s a light at the end of the gray Though it’s hard to remember There’s a light at the end of the gray
9.	Open Room 03:19	lyrics	buy track
Here in the open room I hear your body move Pushing air in waves of blue Here in the open room ‘Cos no one here is quite like you No one here is made so true Share with me your ear Share with me your view Here in the open room Share with me your tune ‘Cos no one here can sing like you No one knows the song like you Oh the trouble of leaving Oh whenever we’re leaving Oh I know that I’m leaving Oh the trouble we’re leaving
10.	Off the Grid 05:27	lyrics	buy track
I had a dream about leaving I had a dream of the past I had a taste of the good life I knew that it’d never last I had a view of the ocean I had a hold of the West Had to let go of the notion Of holding on, holding on Come come come come come come Come come come come come come I saw the scenery repeating There by the side of the road I had a dream of Nebraska I only know you in song There in Louisiana twilight There by the light of the moon There through the stretch of the bayou You hum along, you hum along Come come come come come come Come come come come come come No more history No more ties No more history We’re off the grid, we’re off the grid, we’re off the grid We’re off the grid, we’re off the grid, we’re off the grid Come come come come come come Come

about

Tomo Nakayama is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter from Seattle, Washington. Fog On The Lens is his first solo album, made after nearly a decade fronting beloved Seattle chamber-pop band Grand Hallway, and composing for and acting in Lynn Shelton’s Sundance Grand Jury nominated film “Touchy Feely”.

Fog On The Lens was written and recorded during a residency at Town Hall Seattle. Literally handed the keys to the historic building for three months, Tomo utilized the 92 year old Roman-revival style hall as his own personal recording studio. Recording alone at odd hours of the night, Tomo used a single microphone plugged directly into his laptop to capture the natural acoustics of the various rooms of Town Hall. Emphasis was placed on first takes and keeping the performances as raw and unedited as possible. In essence and in spirit, Fog On The Lens is a bedroom album created in a cathedral-sized room.

To mix the record, Tomo enlisted the help of producer/multi-instrumentalist Yuuki Matthews (of The Shins and Teardrops). Yuuki displayed an immediate and intuitive understanding of Tomo’s vision, mixing onto analog 4-track cassette tape and overdubbing his own wildly imaginative array of analog synthesizers and homemade keyboard sounds which heighten the album’s evocative, dream-like atmosphere.

Fog On The Lens finds Tomo pursuing a rawer, more playfully spontaneous and intimate sound than the dense, fully orchestrated sound of Grand Hallway. It combines elements of the acoustic and electronic, analog and digital, lo-fi and hi-fi, the urban and the pastoral. The past and future collide in a colorful, hazy collage. It bears the influence of Tomo’s favorite musicians like Arthur Russell, Bjork, Paul Simon, Cass McCombs, The Velvet Underground, and Ryuichi Sakamoto, yet exists in a world entirely of its own. Fog On The Lens is a quietly confident step forward from a restless soul, unafraid to follow his muse, wherever it leads him.

credits

released November 8, 2014

Performed, Produced, and Mixed by Tomo Nakayama and Yuuki Matthews

Recorded at Town Hall, Wallace Falls State Park, Bluebird Guesthouse, Palatine House, and Nioma.

Mastered by Ed Brooks at RFI

Cover Art and Layout by Frida Clements, Photography by Alicia Palaniuk

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Tomo Nakayama Seattle, Washington

"When music journalists say things like 'this artist is a fixture in Seattle music,' there’s probably no one right now who fits that title better than Nakayama." - KEXP

Born in Japan and raised in Seattle, Washington, Tomo Nakayama is an artist whose melodic, complex and emotionally compelling music has been praised by NPR, New York Times, and KEXP. ... more

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