Fuubutsushi – Columbia Deluxe

Born from pandemic-era isolation, Fuubutsushi began as a collaborative, remote recording project spanning four different cities in four different timezones. Patrick Shiroishi (Los Angeles), Chris Jusell (Raleigh), Matthew Sage (Colorado Front Range), and Chaz Prymek (Salt Lake City), came together to craft four seasonally themed albums in 2020–21, followed by their first vinyl double LP release last year (2024). Their new release, Columbia Deluxe, distills the raw, in-the-moment energy of their live performances into an unfiltered recording, bringing fresh improvisations to familiar tracks. From the patient guitar that ushers in the first song on the album, to the droning strings and subtle vocal cues that blur track boundaries, each piece unfolds as part of a continuous soundscape, a transference of live show to record and living document of the collaboration.

The opening track “Bolted Orange” takes its time easing you into the soundscape, beginning with a trickling guitar joined by a traipsing saxophone that doesn’t enter the song until four minutes in. More instruments coyly enter during the second half of the 10-minute-long song – a wavering violin, a gentle piano – all combining to create a calming atmosphere, an opening in a clearing, making way for the rest of the set to breathe. Subtle vocal intonations and samples peak in towards the end, giving this ethereal setting a human hearth at its core, warming and grounding the celestial textures. The ending sample bleeds into the next track, “Loop Trail,” showing that this album is meant to be consumed as a whole. The atmosphere continues on this track, with droning strings folded in to signify a deepening introspection that blurs the boundaries between moments, weaving each passage into a continuous, evolving journey.

“Shephard’s Stroll” feels like the beginning of the next chapter in the musical collection, turning the attention to another spacey combination of a guitar, piano, and jittering violin. Halfway through the track, we can hear a member from Fuubutsushi direct the next phase of the song, and the charge is then passed to a commanding violin and rhythmic bass, while the remaining instruments swell and swirl around. The saxophone reappears, hovering above the deeper rhythms and waltzing with the violin. “Mistral” opens with a lower octave piano spotlight, and the coupling of the carried-over violin and saxophone gives this song a fullness, and there’s an intentionality and familiarity to the melody. We also hear another person’s exclamation towards the end of the song, adding to the sense of shared experience between player and listener.

“I Hold Dearly (for Miles)” dials the tempo back, recreating the breathiness first explored by the musicians in the beginning of the journey. Bells and chimes formulate a pixelated backdrop for the building instrumentation, and there’s a pronounced sense of longing shone through the violin, and the swelling sounds around it really create a journey that the listener can feel. “Light in the Annex” begins with this same violin retreating, sulking even, for the resonant piano to take over. The saxophone rides the tide in and instructs the orchestra to follow its intensity, eventually taking the track to its to completion and resolution. The album closes on a 45 seconds-or-so applause from the crowd who were there to witness the performance unfold before them, now captured on Columbia Deluxe.

Every moment feels both meticulously crafted and freshly improvised on Columbia Deluxe. The droning strings, jittering violins, thunderous piano, and subtle vocal cues weave a performance that blurs the line between player and listener, grounding orchestral textures in human warmth. By capturing the live applause at the close, the record reminds us of the intangibility that lies in the energy transfer of a live performance. Columbia Deluxe is more than a collection of songs – it’s a living document and an immersive journey meant to be experienced in its entirety.