Magnify Tokyo
Year
2024
In May 2023 we spent time in Tokyo gathering local singers and musicians and capturing their original songs. The result is an album of Japanese songs of faith, worship and the Christian life, with an eclectic mix of genres and styles.
My role in this project was to come in as producer and arranger, working with a talented band and excellent songwriters, each with their own style and sound, I wanted to capture something that felt unique to each vocalist, but still consistent across the album. Aside from co-writing the song ‘Kokoro’ with Lauren Horii, most of my time was spent directing the band and guiding the dynamics and arrangement of each song. I also added extra layers of production in the studio afterwards.
Even though the album crosses many genres, the consistency was in the process. We recorded every song live, in the room, with the same team. The sound of that band and that recording process became the thread that ran through each song to keep it sounding like the same album.
Kokoro
Co-written by Jonathan Ogden and Lauren Horii
Kuchinai Kanmuri
Song written by J.Rio. Produced and mixed by Jonathan Ogden. Videography and video editing also by Jonathan Ogden.