The Arch

Created over a year at Figure 8 through its Open Residency program, The Arch finds Watanabe in deep collaboration with Grammy Award-winning producer William Brittelle and executive producer Shahzad Ismaily. It is a cathartic celebration of a life in music, transformation, and self-discovery.

Brittelle pushed Watanabe to dig into his personal musical history and put everything on the table. The result is a record shaped by experimentation, with sounds, instruments, and compositional tools he would not normally use, opening up the full scope of his musical voice.

Across 10 tracks, traditional Japanese instruments including shinobue and ryuteki flutes, taiko drums, narimono percussion, and koto sit inside compositions and jazz improvisations. Watanabe layers piano, synthesizers, tenor saxophone, soprano and alto flutes, and harp to build a shifting soundworld held together by a singular vision.