While releasing contemporary classical music works through my elsewhere music label, I occasionally find myself drawn to pieces that evoke the pop-rock of the '60s and '70s (one of my formative experiences as a youth), new works by contemporary singer-songwriters that conjure that era's atmosphere. For this reason, I have occasionally released song albums in the past, most notably The Giving Shapes and Shoko Numao.

I played the guitar and sang in several bands during high school in the early '80s. Back then, I loved older songs that felt simpler and more genuine than the music from that decade. Whenever I hear music that I listened to during that time, or pop rock that my friends in other bands played (Rod Stewart covers, etc.), or any music reminiscent of that era, it brings back memories of that special, exciting, joyful time in my youth. 

Recently, I came across another collection of songs reminiscent of the pop-rock spirit of that era. The simple, pure sincerity of these works strikes straight to my heart, much like my favorite pop-rock songs of old time, and they deeply resonate with me. 

Each year, I've grown to appreciate the beauty of these nostalgic experiences more and more. To share these works, I am launching a sub-label called "elsesong" as an homage to '60s and '70s pop rock, which is completely separate from my main elsewhere music label. 

The purpose of this sub-label is to share these works that I love with as many people as possible digitally and via streaming, just like how I used to listen to songs on the radio when I was young. So, I will release these works exclusively digitally and via streaming.

For those familiar with the direction my label has taken so far, the releases on this sub-label might seem puzzling. But I have a strong desire to bring the work I love to the world, regardless of genre, so I am following my instincts and proceeding.

I will make a further announcement in the near future regarding the first project, elsesong 001.

​- Yuko

Very happy to share the cover design for Maya Bennardo - rustlings (elsewhere 040), to be released in late March. CD preorders will start by mid-February. 

cover photography by Kristofer Svensson
​

Very happy to share the cover design for Adrián Demoč - Flute (Manuel Zurria) (elsewhere 039), to be released in late March. CD preorders will hopefully start by mid-February.

Cover painting by Maria Filippakopoulou.

We are thrilled to announce another upcoming release on elsewhere, scheduled for March 2026.

Maya Bennardo - rustlings (elsewhere 040)

'rustlings' is an album of two pieces written by Stockholm-based violinist and composer Maya Bennardo. One of the pieces, 'dormant gardens i' (2022), was written for and performed by andPlay, a duo of Bennardo on violin and Hannah Levinson on viola. The other, 'summer rustlings' (2024), is a solo violin piece performed by Bennardo.

Both pieces were inspired by Bennardo's move to Sweden from New York City, where she developed a new relationship with nature through walking. Her solo and compositional practices are deeply tied to the violin, with which she explores the acoustic nature and blossoming of three-note chords on string instruments. With a sense of serenity underlying the vibrant string sounds, the violin and viola convey a sharp, piercing clarity reminiscent of Nordic light. The music is permeated by the starkness and raw vitality of nature, devoid of sentimentality. Its refreshing purity borders on austerity, as does its powerful transparency, which culminates in a breathtaking moment when the sequence of sounds sculpts the silence with intense beauty near the end of 'summer rustlings'.

Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Maya Bennardo and Mike Tierney at Fieldnotes Studio in Brooklyn, NYC. 

-----------

TRACKLIST

1. dormant gardens i  (2022)  
performed by andPlay (Maya Bennardo - violin, Hannah Levinson - viola)

2. summer rustlings  (2024)  
performed by Maya Bennardo

(release date: March 30, 2026)
​

​We are thrilled to announce another upcoming release on elsewhere, to be out in March 2026.

Adrián Demoč - Flute (Manuel Zurria) (elsewhere 039)

​'Flute' is an album of six pieces written by Slovak composer Adrián Demoč and performed by Italian flutist and multi-instrumentalist Manuel Zurria. Of the six pieces, "Zamat" is performed in two different versions. This is Demoč's second release on elsewhere music, following the 2024 release 'Piano', as well as Zurria's second appearance as the flutist, following the 2024 release Giuliano d’Angiolini - ')))((('.

Demoč's compositions are often intended for open instrumentation or a "monochromatic polyphonic" instrument. All of the pieces on this album, except for the new piece "Harmonium," were previously released by another timbre and elsewhere music for different instrumentations.

On ‘Flute’, Zurria opens new possibilities for interpreting Demoč's scores by weaving mesmerizing layers of sound by playing flutes and bottles. Through his exquisitely delicate and creative approach, Zurria masterfully balances the two primary aesthetic qualities of Demoč's music—drawing out the harmonic beauty while allowing the contemporary fragility and edge to shine.

Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Manuel Zurria at BigCardo Studio in Rome and Catania in September and December of 2025.


TRACKLIST
1. Harmonium
2. Zamat (version for 4 C flutes )
3. Ma fin est mon commencement
4. Canon
5. Gebrechlichkeit
6. Zamat (version for 3 bass flutes)
7. A Luca Marenzio II

Manuel Zurria - flute(s), bottles

(release date: March 30, 2026)

We are thrilled to announce an upcoming release on elsewhere, to be out in March 2026.

Marianne Schuppe / Deborah Walker - Two Paths (elsewhere 038)

​Swiss-based German vocalist/composer Marianne Schuppe and Berlin-based Italian cellist Deborah Walker present two duo works: Aus dem Zeltbuch, co-composed by Schuppe and Walker; and Occam River XXIX, a piece by French composer Éliane Radigue. This Radigue piece is being released on CD for the first time.

Aus dem Zeltbuch (2022/23), based on a text-collage by Marianne Schuppe, reveals a surface of a word-sound texture on the edge of acoustic intelligibility. Aus dem Zeltbuch questions our perception of language in a musical context by creating bilingual areas of sound. As words and sounds overlap, they may reveal a path of sound through narration, meaning, and understandability.

Occam River XXIX (2023) is part of Occam Océan, a large body of work that Éliane Radigue began in 2011. The compositional process involves imagery, oral transmission, and memory, resulting in a creative relationship between the composer and the performers. Like all the pieces in the Occam Océan series, Occam River XXIX was made for and with Schuppe and Walker through a close collaborative process. The music develops from the inner life and nature of sounds, their spectral complexity, internal evolution, and mutual interaction. It features a unique approach to being inside a sound together and reacting subtly to what is constantly becoming.

TRACK LIST
1. Aus dem Zeltbuch (2022/23) co-composed by Deborah Walker / Marianne Schuppe
2. Occam River XXIX (2023) composed by Éliane Radigue (SACEM)

Marianne Schuppe - voice
Deborah Walker - cello

(release date:  March 30, 2026)

​当レーベルのファンの皆様へ

当レーベルでは、アーティストへのハラスメントやつきまとい行為を一切許容しません。そうした状況が生じて当レーベルのアーティストが心傷を受けるなど被害が生じた場合には、アーティスト保護団体やその他の法的窓口を通して厳重な処置も検討する所存です。ファンの皆様につきましては、節度のある方法でアーティストを応援してくださるよう、よろしくお願いいたします。

この件の詳細は近日中にelsewhereレーベルのサイトに載せますが、観客（あるいは音楽ライター・評論家）としての一線を超えて若いアーティストに過剰につきまとい、プライバシーを侵害し、それを迷惑だと感じて「やめてほしい」と訴えている被害者に対して、世代の価値観の違いを理由に「こちらとしては応援しているだけなのだから、（アーティストには）ハラスメントだと思われてもがまんしてほしい」と願うのは許されないことであると、当事者の方に理解していただきたいです。「日本ではそれが普通だから」と、こうしたハラスメントを放任することも、当レーベルでは許容致しません。

よろしくご理解お願いいたします。

elsewhere music主宰
​

​​To Our Label's Fans

Our label does not tolerate any harassment or stalking of our artists. Should such situations arise and cause harm, such as emotional distress to our artists, we will consider taking strict measures through legal channels. We kindly ask all fans to support our artists in a respectful and appropriate manner.

​Details regarding this matter will be posted on the elsewhere label website shortly. However, we want those involved to know that crossing the line from being an audience member or music writer/critic to excessive stalking and invasion of privacy is unacceptable. It is also unacceptable to respond to a young artist's complaint about the harassment by saying, "We're just trying to support you, so even if you think it's harassment, you should just put up with it," and citing generational differences in values as justification. Our label will not tolerate such harassment under the pretext that "it's normal in Japan."

Thank you for your kind understanding. 

elsewhere music owner

Samuel Reinhard - For 10 Musicians (elsewhere 036) and Shoko Numao - The Siwnin Sails (elsewhere 037) are officially released today, November 1. CDs are now in stock. 

Laura Cetilia - gorgeous nothings (elsewhere 035) will be released on November 20.

> Q&A with Samuel Reinhard about For 10 Musicians
> Q&A with Shoko Numao about The Siwnin Sails
​