levity

This is _the_ summer city walking music. It's jazzy! It's airy! It's funky! It admits either casual, background-style listening or close attention. There's a ton of variety here; *Asayake* is my personal favorite but it's all great. The way *Acoustic Dream* fades into *Reflections of You* is so perfect. Not just piano music! There's a lot of electric guitar here too, a la Masayoshi Takanaka.

Soft music, good for night and rest. *Reiki* is the standout track in my opinion. There are vocals (but no lyrics) and a little story about a guy who gets kicked out of a band and finds his way back in. It's nice. It's sweet!

Google translates the artist as Kyozou Nishioka, and the album title as "South American Travel". That's good to know!! This is an album of chill acoustic island music for evenings at home.

Japanese piano music is just the ticket when you're falling in love while watching a romance anime about a pianist, isn't it? This breezy sound is also just the ticket for exploring Upper West Side's streets and parks in late summer. Hidefumi Ino was my entry point to this sphere on Spotify (actually through his other album [Satisfaction](https://open.spotify.com/album/0j9epI3pFTdwfQa5PfiYSV), which features more analog synth).