@SomaStaff 2018/11/23 19:33

Good evening, Saito Soma here. Details for my 1st album were finally revealed today! So many people have helped me come this far. Thank you! That said, the journey has only just begin. Please support “quantum stranger”! -S

@SomaStaff 2018/11/23 13:05

Thank you for the likes and retweets☆
There’re a lot of announcements planned for next week, so please look forward to them👏

@SomaStaff 2018/11/23 12:04

[Information Update]
The jacket covers for Saito Soma’s 1st album “quantum stranger”, releasing on 12/19, have been posted!!

☆Information page http://www.saitosoma.com/info/archive/?501404

@SomaStaff 2018/11/16 13:34

[Media Update]
Saito Soma will be on the cover and opening feature of Ani-PASS #02, a “music x anime x people” offshoot of the music magazine B-PASS!

There’ll also be a long interview about his 1st album “quantum stranger” which releases on 12/19.

http://www.saitosoma.com/info/archive/?501189

@SomaStaff 2018/11/06 18:00

☆Information Update★
Saito Soma’s secret project has been unveiled!

Saito Soma’s 1st Full Album “quantum stranger” will be released on 2018/12/19!
Saito Soma’s 1st Live @ Maihama Amphitheater will be held on 2019/2/24!!!
Here’s his new artist photo too☆

Details: http://www.saitosoma.com/info/

@SomaStaff 2018/11/06 18:00

Hello everyone! I can finally tell you about my secret project! Saito Soma’s 1st album will be “quantum stranger”! I’m working diligently to bring you a wide variety of songs, ranging from dark, to groovy, to emotional, so please look forward to it! -S

Kenkou de Bunkateki na Saitei Gendo no Seikatsu – Crystalline World

Released: 2018/10/31

※This essay was specially written for the book release of Kenkou de Bunkateki na Saitei Gendo no Seikatsu.


Crystalline World (Kesshou Sekai)

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

A classic thought experiment in philosophy.

My stance used to be that if I couldn’t perceive something, then it didn’t matter if it existed or not. So my answer to the above question was “No.” For example, in terms of communication, it didn’t matter what the intent behind my words was—the only thing that mattered was how people perceived them.

I happened to stop by a secondhand bookstore in Jinbocho, where I found a certain photobook. It was by Ana Barrado, an American photographer. The book, which had commentary by Asada Akira-san, retraced the work of sci-fi writer J. G. Ballard, evoking in me that dreamlike feeling of being awake yet asleep at the same time, on “that day, someday.”

The monochrome photographs captured rocket ships, tropics, vegetation, and the vestiges of humanity’s passionate craving for the unknown. It reminded me of Chirico or My Bloody Valentine in how it felt like I was tripping while sober. I couldn’t settle down, yet there was no need to rant and rave. Outer space and the tropics; a faraway place and where I am now. One and all. Elements that resonate and conflict. A state of calm.

Recently I’ve been reading a lot of books from genres I haven’t perused before. For example, I didn’t use to be interested in photography or architecture. I think it was because I didn’t think they were things I could create with my own hands. On that note, writing and music felt like they were within my reach. Perhaps who I am today began when I pretended that that shallow mindset was “interest.” That grand misunderstanding and assumption is forming who I am now, like a crystal lattice.

Of course, I still love them—in fact, my love for them is growing at an accelerating rate. But I now have a wide range of interests in addition to those, such as art, photography, architecture, fashion, engineering, machinery, political science and economics, mathematics, and traditional performance art. Ignorance is wonderful in some respects, but now that I have this superficial level of knowledge, I have to keep learning more forever. I don’t mean that in a pessimistic way, but rather that I truly want to do that. In the past, I read in a textbook that the word “philosophy” comes from the Greek “philosophia,” meaning “love of wisdom.” I do believe that I love “knowing.”

It’s said that in the year 2045, the technological singularity will occur and AI will surpass human intelligence. Wise people discuss its merits and their concerns, manipulating the masses. As I waver, I find myself right in the middle, wanting to see what will become of this world. Like Ana Barrado, I just want to be there, cherishing the game of drifting between fiction and reality. Like Erik Satie’s furniture music. Like a flower in Noh.

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

My answer now is “Yes, probably.” And I, too, wish to live quietly and peacefully, like a tree standing still in an empty forest. That, or to keep listening in my heart for sounds that should not be heard.

I gently drift, waiting for the final moment when everything becomes a crystal, sparkling as it melts together. Not running or fighting. Not denying or affirming. Simply drifting.

(Thoughts on Ballard/Barrado)

@SomaStaff 2018/10/11 14:54

Hello! It’s Saito Soma. Here’s a picture from the “secret” project I announced a while ago! We’re making it something you’ll really enjoy, so please wait a little longer~! The temperature is going up and down, so please take care of your health! See you soon! -S

@SomaStaff 2018/09/28 20:06

It’s gotten colder lately! Saito Soma here! Now then, it’s been some time since Date was released, and another new project is splendidly in the works! I’m sure you’ll enjoy it, so please wait for it! -S