A year after her widely acclaimed album C/O, Sakura Tsuruta debuts on Seb Wildblood’s All My Thoughts with her crystaline follow up, GEMZ.
“GEMZ is my interpretation of a sequel to C/O”, says Sakura as she describes the project. “Representing clarity and finding light after darkness—a resolution, if you will.”
Self-released in 2022—to be then reissued in 2023 by Toshiya Kawasaki’s mulemusiq, the Tokyo-based listening/wine bar/record label—C/O was Sakura’s first long-player and was well received for its expansive sound. The record features clever vocal production slipped between traditional Japanese chord structures, blending highly textured ambient soundscapes at one turn and then throwing you into a melodic techno maelstrom the next.
It was a record that placed global eyes on Sakura’s talents. Still, those familiar with her will already know of her ongoing contributions to Japan’s underground music scene for a minute. She burst onto the scene back in 2019 with Dystopia on Slovenian-based Bardo Records. Her follow-up, Made of Air (2020), cemented her place in Japan’s underground music scene.
Where C/O was dark, deep, and introspective, GEMZ is bright, pacy, and existential in its narrative. Tracks such as the gentle album opener Twilight wouldn’t be out of place in a Barker record, while others like the beautifully mixed Violet Sun have clean and powerful low ends that would sound incredible through larger systems.
The two projects show the range at which Sakura can operate, which isn’t surprising considering she is one of the 22 Ableton Certified Trainers in Japan. In her interview with //SNCMAG, Sakura talks about the album and her methods for turning visual information into sound.
What was the inspiration for this project?
I already had a creative vision for this album shortly after my previous LP, C/O, came out. GEMZ is my interpretation of a sequel to C/O, representing clarity and finding light after darkness—a resolution, if you will. For C/O, I had an ongoing theme centred around a spherical object—not quite a full crystal but more like a soft bubble. In GEMZ, that nebulous object fully crystallized into something akin to a gemstone, something much more tangible. I aimed to translate this journey into an uplifting and dramatic sonic landscape. I thought it was the perfect metaphor to represent my stylistic development as an artist. I was also drawn to the idea of gemstones—their variation, symbolic meanings, and the way light refracts through crystals. I connected all these ideas and turned them into music!
Creating sounds from a purely visual input is a difficult task. How did you approach the physicality of a gemstone and develop a sonic narrative from it?
I kept a mood board of different gemstones on Pinterest. I referred to it constantly while working on GEMZ for continued inspiration. For some of the tracks, I envisaged a specific colour palette that I expressed through sonic motifs and ideas. For example, “Twilight” evoked a light blue colour, vibrant like a swimming pool. “Lapis Lazuli” also followed a blue theme but represented a deeper, almost oceanic blue.
Some tracks are named directly after gemstones, such as Onyx, Obsidian, and Lapis Lazuli. What gems were represented in the other tracks?
The tracks without direct gemstone names, like “Push & Pull” or “Poly,” are inspired by how light refracts at different angles, resembling a kaleidoscope—the fluctuation of light waves and how they move, like crystals hanging by a window. Tracks such as “Lapis Lazuli,” “Onyx,” and “Obsidian” are named after gemstones based on their symbolic meanings and colours.
You are a proficient Ableton user. How did you use the software during the production process? Were there any specific tools or techniques adopted this time around?
In terms of production techniques, I curated a collection of sounds that I felt best represented the visual ideas of the project before I began creating. I made an effort to use only those sounds to complete the tracks. These initial sounds included samples from Splice, field recordings from my phone, and jams on my hardware (Elektron Analog Four and Hologram Microcosm), among others. This approach helped keep the album’s sonic palette very cohesive. I used Simpler a lot, Ableton Live’s native sampling device, to manipulate these sounds. Additionally, I frequently used plugins from Fors, a Swedish plug-in company I love.
Were you inspired by anyone else’s music during this project, or are you the type who removes any musical influence when creating?
I compiled a playlist of music that reflected the sonic world I wanted to create. I listened to it regularly throughout the project to stay focused. I tend to be influenced by what I hear frequently, whether environmental sounds or music on the radio. So, I’m very selective about the music and sounds I expose myself to while working on a project. When I listen, I try to actively engage with and analyze the material.
GEMZ has a more pacy and energetic aura than C/O. How do you think you have grown as an artist since then, and can we expect more of this in future releases?
The most significant artistic growth I’ve experienced through this album is learning to approach music-making with less seriousness. This might seem contradictory because I’ve become more serious as a producer, with more releases under my name and commissions outside my personal projects. However, while creating GEMZ, I learned to have more fun, be less uptight, and embrace playfulness in music-making. That’s why I named the album GEMZ with a “Z” instead of an “S”—to keep it lighthearted and cute. I also wanted to challenge the trend in electronic music where “harder and darker” is often considered catchy and popular. I aimed to create something uplifting, lightweight, and still danceable. Striking this balance was challenging, but I’m really happy with the result.
What’s next for Sakura Tsuruta?
I’d like to tour the album and reach a more global audience moving forward. I’d also like to start working on my next LP, for which I’ve already solidified the concept!