With his music, Tashi Wada explores resonance, dissonance and alternative tunings to create rich and unanticipated effects. Now, the Los Angeles-based composer and performer releases What Is Not Strange?, his first full-length solo album via RVNG Intl.
The album - his most ambitious and impassioned yet - finds him rummaging through a puzzling period in his life, marked by the passing of his father (artist and composer Yoshi Wada) and the birth of his daughter. The music welcomes exploration, as Wada conveys broader narratives (on being alive, death, and finding one’s place in this big, strange world) through new modes of song-based expression.
Prior Le Guess Who? performer and curator Julia Holter elevates the record with her signature soaring vocals, both in the recording booth and on the stage as part of Wada’s live band.
On behalf of Tashi Wada and RVNG Intl., a portion of the proceeds from this release will benefit Doctors Without Borders, a non-governmental organization that provides humanitarian medical assistance to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or exclusion from healthcare.
Tashi Wada performs at Le Guess Who? 2024 on Friday, 8 November. Also performing at the festival are a.o. Arooj Aftab, Kevin Richard Martin & KMRU, Mabe Fratti, aja monet, Luzmila Carpio, Meshell Ndegeocello, and many more.
Photography by Dicky Bahto
