Details at a Glance
Event will be recorded and made available to participants
About the Event
Join us for kaDON Online Album Release Event celebrating Kaoru Watanabe’s groundbreaking new album, The Arch!
This special gathering features a live listening session of the album along with Kaoru himself, offering an intimate journey through a soundworld where traditional Japanese flutes, taiko and koto seamlessly weave into jazz improvisation and rich electronic textures. The session will also feature a Q and A session where you can ask Kaoru about his creative process, his year-long collaboration with Grammy-winning producer William Brittelle and executive producer Shahzad Ismaily and the personal stories behind this cathartic musical milestone. Registration includes a download code for the digital version of the album. You may also order a signed personalized vinyl copy of the album when registering for this event. The event will be recorded and made available to participants who cannot make the live date.
The Arch: About the Album
Kaoru Watanabe, the composer and instrumentalist whose work is rooted in traditional Japanese performing arts and infused with experimental and improvisational elements, announces his upcoming album, The Arch (Out September 18, 2026), via New Amsterdam Records in partnership with Figure 8 Recording.
A highly sought-after collaborator, Watanabe has worked with such iconic artists as André 3000, Yo-Yo Ma, Wes Anderson, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Laurie Anderson, Jason Moran, Rhiannon Giddens, Silkroad Ensemble, and Japanese National Living Treasure Bando Tamasaburo. He was the first non-Japanese national to become a performing member and artistic director of the acclaimed taiko ensemble Kodo.
Created in deep collaboration with Grammy Award-winning producer William Brittelle, alongside executive producer Shahzad Ismaily, over the course of a year at Figure 8 as part of its Open Residency program, The Arch is a cathartic celebration of a life in music, of transformation and self-discovery.
The collaboration with Brittelle, who encouraged Watanabe to dig deep into his personal musical history, opened the floodgates for Watanabe and to use all of the tools at his disposal during the creation of the album. He explains,
“William opened things up for me and encouraged me to put everything on the table. I began to experiment with sounds, instruments, and compositional tools I normally would not have. This process really allowed me to explore the entirety of my musical being.”
Across the 10 tracks on the record, Watanabe places the vibrant timbres of traditional Japanese instruments (shinobue and ryuteki flutes, taiko drums, narimono percussion instruments, and koto, a 13-string zither) in compositions and jazz improvisations.
These traditional instruments are contrasted by the many layers of acoustic and electronic instruments—piano, synthesizers, tenor saxophone, soprano and alto flutes, and harp, all played by Watanabe— which he uses to create a unique and shifting soundworld, never quite settling in one place or time but buoyed by his singular artistic vision.
Album Credits
