I’m not normally in the habit of blogging about music, but when a fellow Japan blogger is releasing an EP, I have to make an exception.

Tokyo-based British harpist Julia Mascetti, who blogs over at Tokyo Harp, is releasing a new EP – In Distance, Everything is Poetry – on 11 November. You can download one of the tracks, ‘Bloom’, now and the rest here!

In Distance, Everything is Poetry is a 4-track EP of Julia’s own creation. It combines the harp, which she excels at, Japanese imagery and even the shamisen in one track. It really is a work of art and completely original. Not to mention, Julia has a wonderful voice. I am being 100% serious when I say her songs and her voice belong in the ending credits of a film.

Without breaking down into each track in detail (both because that’s not my strong suit and also because you’d do better to listen to them right now), each of the four songs on the EP are completely unique. As you know, I’m a stickler for order, so I’ll run through them briefly in the order they appear on the EP…

‘S.A.D’ is a wonderful introduction to Julia’s distinctive voice and, as you might expect, one of the more melancholy songs on the EP. Combining the harp and violin, it’s a song not just about sadness but also loneliness and longing.

Up next is the slightly more upbeat ‘Driving in Darkness’, which I can only assume was inspired by one lonely late night journey on a bus travelling along the A1. Such journeys give you plenty of time to think and worry about many things, as our singer clearly did, but if it also gives birth to a new song that can only be a good thing.

‘Bloom’ is one of my favourite tracks on the EP. It’s a beautifully eerie song about a woman’s fear of not being able to ‘bloom’ like the sakura blossoms she admires so much. The inclusion of the shamisen makes this a distinctly Japanese-sounding song, which is probably why I like it so much. You can have a listen now to a live recording of Bloom and download it here now.

The final song (is it over already?) is ‘Turtledove’, of which I’m also a big fan. It’s the only song that includes a male voice and, as you might expect, is a love song – albeit about love’s complications. When this song is over, you’ll still be wanting more, so make sure you put the EP on a loop!

In Distance, Everything is Poetry is a wonderful creation, clearly a product of many hours of song writing and recording, and an excellent introduction to Julia’s work. The EP is less than the price of a grabbing lunch at the supermarket, so please show her your love and support by preordering her EP today!