The music on this CD, spans the distance between two countries and two cultures; between two artists who have never even met each other in person. And the music shines through with a radiance and promise heretofor unthinkable.

Tuk and David Hanson, met on the internet in 1997. David was beginning to learn Japanese and Tuk was learning English. After meeting through a mutual friend, Karen Hengst, of Buffalo, New York, the two men struck up a friendship and soon learned that they were both commercial composers/arrangers and using the same computer and software for their work.

David then chanced upon a 20 sec mp3, one of Tuk's arranging pieces, and liked it so much that he began to formulate a project. Since both David and Tuk were composer/producers, they decided to do a sample project of one song to see if any musical magic would happen.

The first song, titled, BREATHING MOONIGHT (Karens' World) was the result of this project and they were so pleased with the new synergy they decided to complete an entire CD. So here it is, after nearly two years of hard work and technical wizardry which, by the way you can read about in the TechNotes section, is MOON DOT SOUP.

TATSUO "TUK" KATO

My music preference is any sophisticated stuff in whatever genre from which I can feel much affection, love, passion, etc. of the creator. Having been born as a Japanese, I'd say my personal artistic taste is based on Japanese stuff, while I've rather been more interested in American music/culture since I was a child. Movies such as "The Graduate" and the American pop music from radio were big influences.

I started to play the guitar around the time and then I had Paul Simon and James Taylor as my first music heroes. I remember I was so much into S&G stuff that I had all the songs and guitar play of the whole double album "S&G Greatest Hits" by heart. And then as I was also getting interested in jazz and rock, I had Larry Carlton as my jazz/blues hero and Joe Satriani as the rock hero.

Since the early days, I have been trying to pick up anything which I thought fitted my tastes from both Japanese and American culture. My thanks to the technology. It's much easier today to see American one. I was eager to touch anything American and had fun to communicate with people out there around the beginning of my internet access. It sure was something in my life.

And then I met David, the most important person I've ever met on the net. I'm so happy working on this Net-collaboration with him.

Tatsuo "Tuk" Kato received a degree of engineering from Tohoku University, Japan in 1979. Right after that, he returned to his first love, music, and began to work as a session guitarist in Tokyo.

Tuk has worked on numerous concerts and studio sessions until now during his professional career. His main passion, however, is working as an arranger, a composer and producer.

IN TOKYO, HIS RECORDINGS INCLUDE SUCH RELEASES AS:

Eiichi Otaki "Each Time", "Long Vacation"

Time Five "Time Five Time"

Hako Yamazaki "Nawatobi"

Kyoko Koizumi "I Love Dance"

Noriko Sakai "Singles~NORIKO", etc.

GUITAR WORK FOR LIVE PERFORMANCE

Eiichi Otaki, Yuko Otomo, Time Five, Hiroaki Igarashi, H2O, Cherish, Circus, Hako Yamazaki, Satoshi Kishida, Akira Inaba, Yukie Nishimura, Reijo Ku, etc...

TUK'S COMPOSITION AND ARRANGING CAN BE HEARD ON SUCH WORK AS:

Cherish "Day Dream", "Cooking"

Toshiya Igarashi "Lady Danger"

Takumi Nishio "Itsuka Dokoka De"

Yukie Nishimura "101 Kai Me No Propose", "Shin'ai Naru Mono E"

Yoko Takahashi "Pizzicato"

Emu "Musoubana"

Denki Groove "Drill King"

Jake H. Conception "Jake Box" series

Project Albums:
"A Trip To Barcelona", etc...

TV Music:
Hirake Ponkikki "Kimi No Senaka Ni Notte", Ending Theme, etc.
NHK Minna No Uta "Fuyu No Yoru No Ohanashi", "Ohirune No Yurikago", etc.
TV Asahi "New Station" Theme
NTV "From N" Theme, etc..................

TV commercials:
National "Aircon Eoria", etc...

Film Music:
Shouchiku "Hitodenashi No Koi", etc

David Hanson

A lot of people know me as a drummer. But in reality, the bass is my first love, although I've never played it. I grew up in Fargo, North Dakota, the only son of a 40's era swing band father. My father had a 13 piece band that would play locally. I used to love to go help him set up the bandstands at the local Elks Club. When I was 12 years old, my dad bought be a complete set of Ludwig drums which immediatly changed my entire outlook on life. That was in 1961, which was 3 full years before The Beatles landed on our shores and changed the lives of me and my friends lives forever.

In 1972 the band I was in at the time, the OVERLAND STAGE, garnered a recording contract on Epic Records. We travelled in the winter of '72 to San Francisco to record at CBS. Down the hall recording also was SANTANA and IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY. These were some heady times for a kid from Fargo, North Dakota. Some memories that stayed with me are:

BUDDY MILES playing my drums on a track of an AMERICAN FLAG album.

"Borrowing" two joints from CARLOS SANTANA'S guitar case.

COKE ESCOVEDO, ie. SHEILA E'S father, playing congas on our album.

Thowing Nibs off the roof of the motel on Van Ness Avenue into the swimming pool below.

SANTANA keyboard player, GREG ROLLIE being frisked outside CBS Studios by the cops for pot.

Meeting DAVE MASON and BOZ SCAGGS. Ah, those were the days.

The resulting album, THE OVERLAND STAGE, stiffed. Oh well. I probably would have ended up on drugs anyway. The good thing about the experience was that I developed an intense interest in the recording process. I can remember back when I was a junior in High School and saw a picture of Paul McCartney directing the orchestra at Abbey Road Studios during the recording of A Day In The Life. I thought then and there: THAT'S what I want to do, work behind the scenes...the studio life.

In 1975 I started my first recording studio, Friendship Productions. I had little money, basic Studer 8 track equipment but a ton of desire and enthusiasm. Recording everything from jingles for car dealers to live orchestras to one man polka bands, I eventually turned into a real live recording engineer. Good thing, since I was making a living at it!

In 1977 I met Paul Severson, a former Fargo native who had been working in Chicago as a top-notch commercial composer. Paul walked into my studio with a bag full of tapes which included themes for Marlboro and Wild Kingdom. I felt a strong affinity for his sense of melody and emotion and we became not only good working partners, but very close friends. Since my father died in 1966 at the age of 51, I have since adopted Paul as my "dad".

Today I am extremely proud of my hometown of Fargo. I take pride in the thought that I am a link in the long chain of musicians who have brought our city up to the present moment, with all the promise and excitement of major label signings of local artists like JONNY LANG and SHANNON CURFMAN.

So, here it is, the year 2000, and Tuk and I are travelling down a new avenue of musical expression...across the wide ocean from each other...but sharing the same musical soul. My father, who fought in the South Seas in World War II should see the two of us now. I think he would be happy and proud.

Here's hoping you enjoy these songs from the heart..