Los Angeles producer and speech-language pathologist Garrett Oyama, makes his Sanzuwu Group debut as Go Yama with the multi-disciplinary children's novel and soundtrack Rumi. Following his journey into Japanese folklore with 2022's Moon Rabbit, the guitar virtuoso dives deeper into the realm of childhood wonder with an original story about Rumi, a cuttlefish who finds herself on an undersea quest to (re)discover awe for the world around her.
The story of Rumi is inspired by Oyama's work with children in school. Year after year, he noticed, the kids would progress through childhood, their sense of wonder for the world increasingly dulled by the growing pressures of the feeds and followings in our pockets. His desire to encourage them – and the child in all of us – to keep hold of our innate capacity for astonishment resulted in a yearlong process of parallel creation, resulting in the book/album combination.
This pursuit of the sublime isn't just confined to rhetoric either; Rumi serves as a record of Oyama committing over a year toward growth through honouring the beauty of his own artistry. His established glitch-hop/jazz fusion sound is elevated to cinematic new heights, as he enriches his musicianship with grand orchestral arrangements. The story takes readers through an Alice in Wonderland-esque series of undersea settings, each more mind-expanding than the last, scored by lush sonic landscapes that invite the listener's attention.
Rumi serves as Oyama's magnum opus, rounded out by guest appearances from Reo, Tim McNalley & Mara Kaye.
Rumi is out everywhere July 1st, with the book Rumi and the Ocean on Awe to follow.
Album artwork by Hansol Kim
Book illustrations by Hansol Kim & Paul Chin
Additional creative by Seth Brown
Mixed & mastered by Freeza Chin
Executive produced by Paul Chin
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