Still Life

Still Life

by Tokuhiko Kise

Long before the name S.T,N.E. existed, I had already sensed a quiet desire within me—to create simple things, the way I did when I first began making furniture. And yet, I hadn’t been able to truly return to that place.

In the midst of this, I rented a loft in Los Angeles and began frequenting a neighborhood coffee shop. Looking more broadly, it was the city itself, with its easy openness, that felt so comfortable. I came to realize that this sense of openness was something I truly needed.

One day, I came across a piece of land online and felt drawn to it. I started visiting almost every day, standing among the overgrown grass—sometimes at sunrise, simply to feel the morning light. I kept asking myself what kind of building would belong there. As I began sketching plans for a house, the furniture that might fill it naturally started to appear in my mind as well. Through all of those days, haruka nakamura’s Still Life was always playing in the background.

This album sits beside me whenever I think about houses or furniture. At the same time, it clears the air in my head and guides me into focus. It isn’t “just background music.” Quietly, yet unmistakably, it helps me move forward. A presence I’m deeply grateful for.

Even now, as I write these words, Still Life is playing.

I once read the diary where Haruka himself recorded the process of making this album. His words, like the music, exist as if they were always meant to be there. He receives the time and distance it takes to arrive at such a place as something essential, treating each step with care. That attitude moved me deeply.

And what about myself? Perhaps I am still not there yet. It is this thought that sharpens my resolve.