Mend My Heart (Lofi Music, Reflective Rap)
Channel: Masaki Okamoto
Date: 2024-01-18

My original track "Mend My Heart" played live with Ableton Live & Akai APC40.

[About the outdoor scenes]
As I walked along the tranquil paths, the gentle rustle of dry straw under my feet served as a subtle reminder of the season's recent harvest. A slender canal flowed with serene constancy, its waters reflecting the clear blue of the sky. On both sides of the path, tall grasses swayed to the breeze. Ahead, the mountains stood as silent sentinels, their peaks adorned with the silhouettes of wind turbines — a modern contrast to the timeless landscape. Houses nestled in the near distance, their presence a comforting sign of community amidst the expansive embrace of nature. The air was crisp, and with each breath, I felt more connected to the pastoral beauty that enveloped me. It was a moment of solitude, yet I was in the quiet company of the earth and sky.

[About the Wakayama Prefecture]
The video contains some outdoor clips from the Hidaka and Mihama towns in Wakayama Prefecture, as well as some brief shots of a bridge in Aridagawa town.

Wakayama Prefecture, located in the Kansai region of Japan's Honshu island, is known for its rich cultural heritage, natural beauty, and historical significance. The region is famous for its rugged coastline along the Pacific Ocean, offering stunning views and numerous natural hot springs.

[About the Akai APC40 MIDI controller]
The Akai APC40 mk2 is a comprehensive control surface designed specifically for use with Ableton Live, a digital audio workstation (DAW). 

Channel Strips:
The APC40 has eight channel strips, which are sets of a knob, pads, buttons and a fader that are aligned vertically.

Pads:
The RGB backlit pads are arranged in an 8x5 grid at the heart of the APC40. These are used for launching clips in Ableton Live, although I seldom use them for this purpose. Instead, they serve me as a monitor  giving me visual feedback on the clip status, as well as the channel assignment. The green-lit pads are the ones currently playing, while the flashing ones are to be auto-launched next. They also let me know which musical part I can control in a given channel strip thanks to the color-coding of the pads. The ones in pink, for example, are usually the lead melodic instrument in my case.

Faders and Knobs:
Below this grid, there are eight channel faders and a master fader, each accompanied by a knob. These are used for precise control over the mix, allowing you to adjust volume, pan, and send levels. Each channel strip also includes a knob for device control, typically used for manipulating effects and instrument parameters.

Device Control Section:
The APC40 has a dedicated section for device control, with eight rotary faders that control the parameters of the selected device in Ableton Live. In this video, they're used for intuitive tweaking of effects such the vocoder and the hi-cut filter.

Crossfader:
The crossfader, at the bottom right, is assigned to Ableton Live’s A/B crossfade assignments. Typically, I use it to mute all the melodic/harmonic instruments, leaving only the drums and voice to be heard.

Scene Launch Buttons and Clip Stop:
On the right side of the matrix, there are buttons for launching entire scenes (rows of clips). In my case, they are used for resuming the music after I stop it temporarily at certain places like the end of a section. Below the matrix, there are clip stop buttons which can be used to stop individual clips.

The "studio version" of this track will be part of my next album.

Aside from YouTube Music, my music is also on these platforms:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7c28M9IEmF6c9JnrtXWiK2
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/masaki-okamoto/1492681802
https://tidal.com/browse/artist/10100222
https://www.deezer.com/us/artist/15373899