Aki Ishiguro - Shishi's Wish [CD]

A stray cat, a card trick and an unborn baby's first kick are amongst the unlikely inspirations behind Shishi's Wish, this second album from the trio Mural. The lineup is the same as on their first highly-acclaimed album, with Aki Ishiguro on guitar, Peter Schwebs on bass, and Rodrigo Recabarren on drums. The trio has been on world tour playing in Japan, New York, Chile and Germany. "Doing these trips," explains Schwebs, "has transformed our music into something new. Now we are specifically writing for each other. That was the approach for this album." The trio has been experimenting with new ideas, using overdubbing and distortion to create unusual effects and colors. "We established our sound on our debut record and through touring- and that has directly helped me tailor my composing for this band," says drummer Recabarren. The three musicians were discussing a name for the album. They were fond of the track Shishi written by Ishiguro. It became part of the album title. Shishi the stray cat had appeared in his life some years ago. Beautiful, but feisty and confrontational, she walked up the front steps of his house during a bitter New York winter, looking for shelter. She gave birth to a stillborn kitten, took months to regain her strength, then left and never returned.