Yusuke Hirado plays piano and keys, Takahiro “matzz”, Matsuoka plays percussion and Kazuhiro Sunaga plays bass. Sohnosuke Imaizumi is on drums. Quasimode has been a leader in club jazz. The first album, “oneself-LIKENESS”, was released in 2006. It was the first album to reach the top of the club charts in Japan’s foreign-affiliated CD shops. The second album, “The Land of Freedom”, came out in 2007. It was ranked 4th on the J-WAVE’S radio show hosted by Gilles Peterson as the 2007 BEST JAZZ RECORDS. It became a worldwide hit. The album was ranked at top of Jazz charts in clubs and on iTunes Stores worldwide. SONAR KOLLEKTIV, Germany’s leading label JAZZANOVA licensed it and released it worldwide. The live album “Straight to the Land of Freedom”, which was recorded at LIQUIDROOM, was released in March 2008. It became a huge hit. On October 2008, quasimode’s much-anticipated third album, “SOUNDS of PEACE”, was released. It was ranked at 2nd on the TOWER Records Jazz chart and was chosen by iTunes as the best Jazz album. On January 2009, quasimode, a Japanese representative, will release “mode of Blue”, a cover album on BLUE NOTE label. This is an anniversary album to celebrate its 70th birthday. “mode of Blue” was ranked 1st on the AMAZON HMV, TOWER Records and iTunes Jazz charts. “GOLDENWORKS”, which collects many of the remixes that quasimode has done, was announced on April. They make appearances at many major events, including “North Sea Jazz Festival”, “Tokyo Jazz” (the biggest Japanese jazz festival), and “Rising Sun Rock Festival”. They will exchange BLUE NOTE and release their fourth album, “daybreak”, in December 2009. They are an outstanding jazz band that produces music at a remarkable production rate and is highly anticipated for future activity. http://quasimode.jp
