On May 7th, Tomoyo Harada will be putting out her new CD, the first in five years. Her crystalline voice and lyrical expression has become ever more powerful in drawing audiences into her world. The new album noon moon delivers elegant pop tunes with a contemporary touch.

 

“I love the sight of the moon in the blue sky during the day. Whenever I look up and see a moon during the day, I feel as if I have been shown a part of myself I had not realized before. I am now in my mid-forties and coming to a place that is different from my youth. The noon moon felt perfect for where I am now,” confides Tomoyo. This CD will capture the heart of her listeners. Writing all her own lyrics, Tomoyo wanted not only her music, but the visual of the album, to communicate her current state of being. For this reason, she was inspired to ask Christina Kim of dosa to be the art director for the album.

 

“I have always loved wearing dosa. Having the good fortune of knowing Christina personally, I took a leap and asked if she would be interested in working with me on this. She is so charming, so full of play, and at the same time really well grounded in her creative intentions. When she said, “yes,” I decided to completely hand over the art direction to her.”

 

Christina asked Tomoyo to send things that fit her image of the album. There was a lot of back and forth between Tokyo and L.A. When Tomoyo finally arrived at Christina’s atelier for the photo shoot, she was really moved by a table in the studio. 

 

“On that table were objects like glass, stone, pearls of all sizes and such. Through our conversations, Christina had taken the time to reflect deeply on the album image, and had even assembled a special inspiration table to visualize the world of noon moon” better.”

 

The creative staff Christina assembled for the photo shoot was composed of individuals who are all top artists in the U.S., each mutually appreciative and respectful of one anothers’ work. The make-up artist, Valli O’Reilly, is well known for her work in Alice in Wonderland. Don Freeman is a photographer who is known for his amazing portrait work, as well as, still life photography.

 

“I have always been inspired by the waxing and waning of the moon. I felt a deep connection when Tomoyo asked me to work on her album cover. Both Tomoyo and her music have an otherworldly quality, which went so well with Don’s magical photography and Valli’s pearl-like shimmering make-up. Tomoyo is one of those rare beings who has an abiding calmness even when she is passionately focused. She is not only outwardly beautiful, but also has deep inner beauty, just like the moon,” shared Christina.

 

They shared values of never compromising and working hard with everyone involved to craft a handmade product…we are fortunate to enjoy the collaboration of these two: the evergreen charms of dosa and the sound of noon moon.