In the run-up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, we are creating a crowd-sourced portrait of Japan in sound. We have already begun the first stage of this process, encouraging people throughout Japan to send us their favourite sound as part of a promotional tour in Spring 2015. And we have already received some great responses, which we have been editing together into finished tracks. These tracks are already available online, and we will be offering them in a range of other formats - some conventional, like a USB stick or limited edition vinyl, others not so conventional, such as a speaker made in the design of a Japanese lunchbox. The sounds that people send in will also inform the next stage of our Sound Portrait, which will be designing a series of new representations of Japan across different platforms: a sound map application for exploring the sonic landscape; a film showing the place and value of sound in our contributor’s lives; an immersive virtual reality experience so that visitors from afar can be present in these special aural environments for themselves; plus, artistic residencies and exhibitions at locations around the world. Ultimately, all of these creations will be broadcast and distributed leading up to 2020, when the eyes of the world will be on Japan. The project’s creators are BBC Radio 3 DJ and Musicity founder Nick Luscombe and KanZeOn film co-director/producer Neil Cantwell. Contact: [email protected] https://www.facebook.com/japansoundportrait https://www.twitter.com/jpsoundportrait Please see below for our weekly Japan Sound Portrait podcasts, and various online releases: <iframe style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/destination/id/420454/height/493/width/295/t...
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Most of our online activity will now be focused on our new website at www.japansoundportrait.com
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Japan Sound Portrait Live: Makoto Nomura + Kumiko Yabu + Midori Komachi + Abirdawhale + Verity Lane Cafe Oto, London. Thursday 16th March 2017 https://www.cafeoto.co.uk/events/japan-sound-portrait/
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A tip from Nick for the weekend... “Every now and then a tune comes along that stops me in my tracks. Today I've been totally absorbed by this from electronic producer Shinichi Atobe from Saitama. Beautifully textural and warm, this is pure emotional machine music. “
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A selection of Japanese music from Nick’s recent visit...
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Click above for the first in a new series of weekly podcasts we will be putting together sharing sounds from the project. Available to listen/download online, or on iTunes.
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Japan Sound Portrait are pleased to announce the project’s first physical release – a bamboo USB card containing an hour of lossless audio collected by the project to date. These have been combined into a continuous mix by the project’s founders, Nick Luscombe, from BBC Radio 3’s Late Junction, and Neil Cantwell, co-director of the film KanZeOn.
Japan Sound Portrait is a crowd-sourced sonic exploration that invites people from across Japan to submit sounds that they cherish, to then be used to build a variety of aural representations of the country, from a sound map phone application to virtual reality experiences.
The audio included on this release ranges from the drips of a cave that hosts a legendary serpent, to a sonic story travelling across Tokyo on the Yamanote line. Tracks from Japanese artists such as TA2MI and shinekosei feature alongside remixes of the KanZeOn soundtrack by woob and amoeba.av. The mix is completed by an aural journey around the more rural region of Ibaraki, leaving the listener intrigued and refreshed.
Pre-orders are now available via the link below
https://japansoundportrait.bandcamp.com/…/japan-sound-portr…
ahead of the card being available to buy for the first time at Café Oto on 22nd September, where Nick has been invited by Upset The Rhythm/Caught By The River to DJ a field-recording inspired set in support of Kate Carr, and The London Sound Survey.
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Further details via the link from Nick’s truimphant set with Steve Hellier on the Bowers & Wilkins stage at WOMAD, which included material from Japan Sound Portrait... http://womad.co.uk/artist/steve-hellier-nick-luscombe/
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An all-Japanese special mix marking our Kumamoto Earthquake Benefit event at Brilliant Corners...
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Nick will be joining Kate Carr and The London Sound Survey at Cafe Oto in September for Caught By The River...
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Some selections Nick made for Monocle Radio following his recent trip to Japan...
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To start off some catching up on the blog, here’s a Ping-Pong radio show that Nick made with Ken Nishikawa whilst in Tokyo.
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Recording of a tatemae ceremony, which marks the completion of a building’s internal structure - money and sweets are thrown to children from the first floor.
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Some extremely satisfying sounds emanating from an ENEOS Petrol Pump...
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Today’s sonic delight - the sounds of nature taking over an old battlefield at Heian no Kaze Wataru Park, Yokote.
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Next in the series, some strangely calming traffic sounds from the countryside outside Otsuchi, Iwate prefecture.
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Nick is currently in Japan so here is the start of a little series of sounds he's been recording while he's there...first up,
"Here's a recording I made walking around the supermarket in Otsuchi, Iwate. You can hear lots of different campaigns for various food items. It was very quiet with few customers."
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We are delighted to have been able to interview ICHI - the Bristol-based Japanese experimental singer-songwriter, instrument-maker and performance artist. He has a new album MARU out on Lost Map Recordings, which you can check out here
http://lostmap.com/products/ichi-maru
if you like the sound of what you read below…
—————————————————— 1. Where did you grow up in Japan and what influenced you in terms of your environment / surroundings?
A: I grew up in Nagoya city and I saw lots of interesting musicians when I was 13-14 - I watched lots of local punk bands and after that many genres. I went to the library near my home a lot and watched lots of tribal and folk music videos from around the world.
2. How does the UK compare to Japan sonically and are there sounds you miss from Japan?
A: I miss the insects sounds especially cicada in summertime. But I love the bird song in England.
3. Your music feels Japanese to me….is there such a thing…or is this because of the language?
A: I don’t think so… I don’t know! I don’t know what Japan’s music sounds like for foreign people. I sing a made up language a lot and sometimes I use fake Chinese, Vietnamese and African tribal language! But other songs are in Japanese yes.
4. How do you approach making music and how important is your live show to the eventual studio work?
A: The live show and the recording are two different things. Recording, for me, is finding different colours in sound, adding sound from life, sound from nature, water sounds, paper sounds, typewriter, brushing teeth - it is inspired by the rhythm and colour of everyday sounds in our life. The live show also incorporates sounds from our lives - typewriter, pingpong, water, things that have nice sounds and also are beautiful objects. But also the live show is trying to make lots of different sounds all at the same time, I like the challenge of trying to play my foot drum, steel drum, xylophone and singing with extra objects coming in too - all at the same time! The visual side of the live show is also important to me. Sight is the dominant sense of the human, so I think a lot about the colour of my set up, my costume, objects, props and the overall aesthetic - i want to take people to a different world.
5. I’m really enjoying your new album “Maru”. What inspired the title?
A: Maru means circle. I saw my son draw a circle for the first time, it had a strong impression on me. And I like `round` sound, soft sound, satisfying sound - I searched and collected these sounds for this album 6. Can you tell me how you made the last track on your new album called “Magic Hour”? Where was the recording of the church bells made?
A: I recorded them in a village in Switzerland. i wanted to make sunset sound - magic hour means the beauty in twilight - everything looks magic as the sun goes down - but only for a short time. 7. What’s your favourite Japanese sound? A: A special Japanese cicada called `higulashi` which translates as `evening cicada`. they sing at the end of summer – it’s a very nostalgic sound for me, a sound from the end of summer holidays, both sad and beautiful.
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