01. ASIAN WIND
02. SEASONS
03. MARCO POLO
04. SONG OF SILK ROAD
05. BLOSSOM
06. SPRINGTIME
07. NIGHT BIRD
08. BUTTERFLY
09. TWILIGHT
10. ONCE UPON A TIME
11. ASIAN WIND (piano version)

When I write a song, I always drift on my imaginary ocean while spinning a globe. (Though sometimes I am nearly drawn in ...) I sometimes do the same when I write music for a drama or movie. I was asked to do this project by Pacific Moon and again, when I decided to join it, the first thing I did was to spin my 'Globe'. "I wonder what thing I can do with 'Asia' as the starting point?" I had been looking at it for a while when I noticed that there is a, 'Prairie Route' above the Silk Road. It is further north than the Silk Road. It is the route that has Changan as its base, includes the Mongolian steppe, crosses south of the Aral sea and goes through Astrakhan to Turkey. It seems to be called 'TIAN SHAN BEI LU'.

When I imagined that country I have never seen, a melody came into my head. It was, 'ASIAN WIND'. It was in that moment that I thought, "Right, I'm gonna make an album that's about travelling my way on "The Prairie Road, TIAN SHAN BEI LU", an album that is full of thoughts about this route."

The album was not created from a historical point of view. The melodies were born in my imagination. Probably it is also important for people to enjoy such an imaginary trip.

I have had a musical trip with all these people: a Niko (Chinese lute) player LIU FENG, a Chinese biwa (lute) player SHAO RONG, a Chinese zither player JIAN XIAO-QING, a Chinese qin (zither) player LIN MIN and a quartet which plays Chinese instruments (The Beautiful Flower Ensemble).

Over the long period when I created eight albums with The Paris Opera Theater Orchestra I had always talked with them about, "Coming back with Misa's Asian songs..." I created those thoughts with 'The Beautiful Flower Ensemble'.

Someday in the near future, I wish that we can be a bridge between Asia and Europe in the way Marco Polo traveled from the far western end to the eastern end. The artists and I hope that we can send you, even though it is only a small bridge, our hearts and musical notes in a souvenir called "Music" from Asia through TIAN SHAN BEI LU.