The latest release from "Kitaro" is an ode to mother earth (Gaia) and his first new studio album in four years. Based in part on "On Bashira" or the "Pillar Festival" that takes place every seven years to celebrate the rebuilding of the Suwa Grand Shrine in Nogano, Japan.

Eight people are chosen to spiritually cleanse themselves and select eight trees which will be the "pillars" of the ceremonial shrine. The album rings with the chanting and ritual feel of the people communing with nature through reflection and prayer. The music is stark and simple, like a room full of "empty," with traditional drums and flute alone against the backdrop of subtle chanting - almost like the wind in the trees. It is subtle, yet intensely spiritual, and with your eyes closed you can picture yourself part of this ceremony picking out your own tree to commune with the heavens.

"Kitaro" gives us the sound of birds chirping, the wind in the trees, the music of nature intermingled with the music of man. The chanting is an impassioned plea, no matter the language, the feeling apparent on the first track "Yamadashi." The second track, "Misty," opens like a mist-filled morning, the sounds muted by this ephemeral layer blanketing the earth. Diffuse, soft as the tendrils of fog that caress the trees. We wander across this peaceful landscape carried on the soft notes of the flute until "Gaia" awakes, the drums a hearthrob, the guitar the pulsing energy of mother earth. The music comes alive, fills the room as "Kitaro" adds a bit more depth to each verse until it bursts like an opening flower in the morning sun. "Wood Faeries" are the sylphs that inhabit the forest, compelling, mysterious spirits in this small ethereal piece.

A bamboo flute solo opens "Satoboki," joined by the drums in counterpoint as they ground the high flying flute, and a heavy chant builds behind them both until it overwhelms them. The final cut "Kiotoshi" begins with a vibrant chant then delves into a peaceful round before the return of the chant increases the intensity of the round. Once more with feeling until the final fadeaway.

This album reminds me a lot of his first album, "Astral Voyage," which may be appropriate in this anniversary of 20 years of recording. The journey leads back to the font of all things, "Gaia," the mother of invention, and "Kitaro" the proud father who has been passing out musical cigars celebrating it for the past 20 years. This is his latest creation. Play this one up and enjoy.

AMZ - Looking back on a career that spans over three decades, is there a single moment that you feel is especially important in the making of Kitaro, the musician?

Kitaro - I was born and raised on a rice and vegetable farm in Toyohasahi, Japan. My education included instruction in the Buddhist and Shintoist religions. That is why I feel my mission is connecting people to people, to give some peace and energy from music through my music to the audience. This is not a single moment, but a collection of such moments that combined to both create and inspire my work.

AMZ - Do you ever feel there is a conflict between the use of "natural" instruments like wood flutes, drums, etc., and the use of the electronic synthesizer, which many people consider artificial, in the making of your music?

Kitaro - There is nothing artificial about the making of music. It is an expressive spiritual pursuit. Because music is created from history, you cannot divorce "natural" instruments from those you refer to as "artificial." They are both important parts of the creative process.

AMZ - Of all your works, which piece has elicited the most response from your fans? Which one has been the most rewarding personally?

Kitaro - Whenever I perform live, I am rewarded. My mission is to feel some energy through my body from the universe. During compositions and performances, I think about that.

Kitaro - The audience feels something like the same kind of emotions from my music. My music is not rhythm and blues, but it feels like soul. I try to put my feeling to the music every night.

Kitaro - I am trying to connect with the younger people at the concerts, and I think I do, but it's slow. I think it's only one by one. It's usually an older crowd at the shows, but we do get three generations, sometimes four. Four generations listen to one music at the same place, same time. That's good.

Kitaro - I do not have a favorite piece and neither does my audience. Each is a picture, a portrait of Kitaro. This is something people understand.

AMZ - You've done symphonic work, soundtracks, and even the music to a stage performance. Is there some area of music you've yet to do that you would like to?

Kitaro - I am always seeking inspiration from different places and different times. This is why I began my World of Music. To say that there is something in particular I would like to do with my music is too limiting. All the time, I am looking forward, never looking back. My ultimate goal is to keep expressing my feelings in music and for people to enjoy it.

AMZ - Your new "World of" albums intend to bring us new musicians in a similar meld. Have you found the next Kitaro among them?

Kitaro - I enjoy working with other musicians. I have worked with Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead and my friend Jon Anderson of Yes. Jon and I may also work together again and I may record with Carlos Santana.

Kitaro - Just as when I helped Oliver Stone with the score for his film "Heaven and Earth," these friends had heard my music, and approached my management. It is inspiring to work with others. This is what I like to do with Kitaro's World of Music. These people appreciate my music and, of course, I also appreciate their music and I like their creativity.

AMZ - Could you explain the writing process you go through? How do your ideas come to you?

Kitaro - My musical beginnings are much like those of others. I loved American R and blues stars such as Otis Redding and B.B. King. I also listened to British rock when I was a kid. Then Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Mike Oldfield - many kinds of progressive rock.

Kitaro - I taught myself guitar and began a high school rock band. When I started music, I played guitar, then switched to the bass, and then to the keyboard. My first inspiration on synthesizer was 'Tangerine Dream."

Kitaro - Then I started creating my own sound. When I started doing my own thing, I almost stopped listening to other music.

Kitaro - I don't consider myself as a professional musician. I'm still learning and enjoying the performance. I don't want to be a professional musician, I want to be an amateur and take inspiration from that.

AMZ - You've mixed Eastern and Western music forms together very successfully. Have you thought of doing an album of strictly one or the other?

Kitaro - Each country all over the world has its own traditional songs, but I would like to propose the idea of creating new things. That's my basic idea: New creations by traditional peoples. This was the idea behind my project, Kitaro's World Of Music. Wherever I go in the world, I love to collect unusual instruments. I like to create music with use of percussion and nearly any type of instrument to paint an image. This mix of music and cultures is in many ways traditional. Music of native cultures is also called folklore music. It has inspired both jazz and the cultures from which the music came. Dizzy Gillespie collaborated with Latin-American musicians in the 1940s and developed a unique sound now called AfroCuban music.

Kitaro - My music has often used many electric sounds, but I feel that sometimes music must be more unplugged, more acoustic. I think some native and traditional people are still hiding. But this is the time to open up and make more connections. Music contains as much history as inspiration. I do not feel that the two can ever be truly separated.

AMZ - Your soon to be released album, "Gaia," reminds me in concept of the Moody Blues, "Days of Future Past" in its ode to Mother Earth. Have you listened to their work at all? Who were your formative musical influences. Who do you listen to now?

Kitaro - My background includes much work in the progressive field, as I have explained, so of course I am aware of the Moody Blues. I have appreciate and respect their work, just as I do the work of any musician who can eloquently express him or herself.

Kitaro - These days I do not find myself listening to much music. Mother Nature fills my ears with beautiful sounds.

AMZ - You seem to be much a man of "inner peace." Does this limit you at all from expressing some of the baser emotions like "anger" in your work?

Kitaro - You can never be limited by peace. To feel inner peace is to be liberated from the trials we face every day. The music I have created is not a place in which to express my anger. It is not anger I express, but it is my energy and joy and appreciation for life and living that I wish to share.

AMZ - If people were to remember one thing about Kitaro and his music, what would you like it to be?

Kitaro - As long as people feel something from my music and it influences them in a good way, that is all that matters to me.