#atsuko hatano

[koichimakigami]

16th JAZZ ART Sengawa Chofu City Sengawa Theater

Directed by Koichi Makigami

Thursday, January 11th

John Zorn's Sounds of the World

・14:00-16:00 Movie screening “Zorn” “ZornⅡ”

・19:30-21:00　John Zorn’s Cobra Tokyo Anniversary Troop

Friday, January 12th

・13:00-14:18　ZornⅢ

・14:40-15:34　Zorn

Crossroads of Sound Part1

・17:00-18:10 Atsuko Hatano (viola + electronics) Yuma Takeshita (Mechanized Instruments) Host: Hiromichi Sakamoto

Follow Kabakov's dream

・19:30-20:40 Hikashu + Masayo Kokei (sax)

Saturday, January 13th

Crossroads of Sound Part2

・13:30-14:40 Masaaki Kikuchi Yoko Ueno Host: Hiromichi Sakamoto

Hibiki's space and eyes

・16:00-17:10 Chieko Ito (dance) Kiyoto Fujiwara (Cb)

・18:30-19:40　

Violently vibrating strings and strings

Gordon Grdina (guitar/odd) and dojo [Michie Yagi (electric kotos, electronics) Tamaya Honda (ds)] Guest Koichi Makigami (voice)

・20:00-21:30 Movie screening “ZornⅡ”

Sunday, January 14th

・11:00-12:18 Movie screening “ZornⅢ”

Unexpected electricity from the north

・13:30-14:40　Cubic Zero Cubic Zero

Nonoko Yoshida (sax) Yoshiro Motoyama (keyboard) Nobuhiko Sasaki (guitar) Taro Okubo (bass) Toru Shibuya (drums)

Crossroads of Sound Part3

・15:40-16:50 Misaki Hondo Suzueri Host: Hiromichi Sakamoto

Treasure of Sengawa

-18:00 JAZZ ART TRIO (starting time being adjusted) Koichi Makigami, Hiromichi Sakamoto, Kiyoto Fujiwara

[theretirementhome]

Atsuko Hatano & Midori Hirano - Cascade

Buy it here.

[souvenirglace]

So beautiful

[hatanoatsuko]

2024.12.10 Solo Live at Hako Gallery

Live : 波多野敦子 Atsuko Hatano (vla, electronics) guest : 林頼我 Raiga Hayashi (dr) 19:30 Opne / 20:00 Start Venue : 代々木上原Hako Gallery Charge: ¥3000/ door¥3500 +1d info : http://hakogallery.jp 予約: メールにて、お名前、人数、日付をお知らせください。hako@ai.wakwak.com tel : 090.3248.9692

#schedule

[koikeraha]

2024. Oct. 26th sat.

“Terry Riley In C 60th Anniversary Concert”

2024年10月26日（土）

開場：19:30　開演：20:00

at BankART Station

（横浜市西区みなとみらい5-1 みなとみらい線「新高島駅」 B1F）

前売￥3000 / 当日￥3500

出演者：

Marcos Fernandes -marimba

波多野敦子 / Atsuko Hatano -viola

林あけみ / Akemi Hayashi -piano

本田ヨシ子 / Yoshiko Honda -voice

今西紅雪 / Kohsetsu Imanishi -koto

石川寧 / Yasushi Ishikawa -trumpet

岩崎佐和 / Sawa Iwasaki -trombone

小林豊美 / Toyomi Kobayashi -flute

小森慶子 / Keiko Komori -clarinet

金剛督 / Susumu Congo -sax

小瀧みつる / Mitsuru Kotaki -synth

コヤマナオコ / Naoko Koyama -harmonium

松下尚暉 / Naito Matsushita -shakuhaci

中西文彦 / Fumihiko Nakanishi -guitar

大澤イツト / Itsuto Osawa -bass

塩野えりさ / Erisa Shiono -violin

Keikin Shu -mandola

鈴木美紀子 / Mikiko Suzuki -guitar

田中悠美子 / Yumiko Tanaka -shamisen

tomca -oboe

山田あずさ / Azusa Yamada -marimba

ほか

前売りはこちらから

https://bankart1929-in-c.square.site/

問い合わせ info@bankart1929.com <mailto:info@bankart1929.com> 045-663-2812

主催：Accretions

協力：BankART1929

[prtcll]

【Gig Info】 7.29 (Mon.) open 19:30 / start 20:00 Duo: Atsuko Hatano + Leo Okagawa Venue: 代々木上原hako gallery (Yoyogi-uehara, Tokyo) Admission: 3,000 yen Reservation: hako@ai.wakwak.com

[About hako gallery] 3-1-4 Nishihara, Shibuya, Tokyo 東京都渋谷区西原3丁目1-4 http://hakogallery.jp/

[Duo] Atsuko Hatano / 波多野敦子 (viola) Leo Okagawa / 岡川怜央 (electronics)

[hmgn3]

24-03-30(sat) Inorganic＠高円寺knock

Satsuki Tsuchiya×Mitsuki Ken Ikeda×Atsuko Hatano

DJ：Jun Kitamura

[deathcar]

2023年1月2月 イベントメモ

* 2/17 更新

[↓ 2月]

[1月]

1⁄2(月)-7(土) 青山 Blue Note (2公演) Robert Glasper Trio https://www.bluenote.co.jp/jp/artists/robert-glasper/

1/5(木) 渋谷 CIRCUS (22:00-5:00) Local World x E.O.U -Two Shell- http://circus-tokyo.jp/event/local-world-x-e-o-u-two-shell/

1/7(土) 神保町 試聴室 (17:30/18:00) 欣賀 コルネリ / Eri Nagami / ゆめであいましょう http://shicho.org/2023/01/1_230107/

1/9(月/祝) 神楽坂 kagurane (17:00-) KGR(Alt) Takahisa Mitsumori a.k.a mergrim x Kazuya Matsumoto / Alminium / Paul.U / Prcls / mu h https://kagurane.com/schedules/view/1797

1/9(月/祝) 渋谷 WWW (17:30/18:00) 浮『あかるいくらい』アルバム・リリース・ライブ https://www-shibuya.jp/schedule/015037.php

1/10(火) 下北沢 SPREAD (19:00/20:00) 産業革命 食品まつり a.k.a FOODMAN × 石橋英子 / Joe Talia × Sam Dunscombe https://t.livepocket.jp/e/bfref

1/11(水) 天空橋 Zepp Haneda (18:00/19:00) CHVRCHES Japan Tour 2023 https://www.creativeman.co.jp/event/chvrches2023/

1/11(水) 青山 月見ル君想フ (18:30/19:00) Slow Dance butaji / mei ehara https://www.moonromantic.com/post/230111

1/11(水) 渋谷 O-EAST (18:30/19:30) 落日飛車 Sunset Rollercoaster "Infinity Sunset" tour in Tokyo https://www.bigromanticrecords.com/single-post/srrc2023

1/12(木) 恵比寿 LIQUIDROOM (18:00/19:00) Ginger Root https://www.liquidroom.net/schedule/gingerroot_20230112

1/13(金) 渋谷 WWW X (18:00/19:00) Ginger Root https://www-shibuya.jp/schedule/015039.php

1/13(金) お台場 Zepp DiverCity (18:00/19:00) Superorganism World Wide Pop Tour https://smash-jpn.com/live/?id=3754

1/14(土) 神田 POLARIS (18:30/19:30) celestial 石橋英子 https://bit.ly/3hcbd2k

1/14(土) 代官山 UNIT (22:00-5:00) Mall Grab Japan Tour 2023 Tokyo https://jp.ra.co/events/1633976

1/14(土) 渋谷 WWW (23:30-) Local XX2 World Oli XL Oli XL https://www-shibuya.jp/schedule/015142.php

1/15(日) 日ノ出町 試聴室 (14:00/15:00) 惑星のかぞえかた / 白と枝 http://shicho.org/2023/01/3_230115/

1/15(日) 渋谷 O-EAST (16:00-) Bonobo (DJ set) Japan 2023 https://www.beatink.com/products/detail.php?product_id=13166

1/15(日) 渋谷 WWW X (17:00/18:00) つCOOL JAPAN おとぼけビ〜バ〜 / でんぱ組.inc / ヨネダ2000 https://dearstage.zaiko.io/item/353512 延期

1/15(日) 神保町 試聴室 (18:00/18:30) やくもよう 池間由布子 / 畑下マユ http://shicho.org/2023/01/1_230115/

1/17(火) 下北沢 SPREAD (19:00/20:00) IN THE FOG ATSUKO HATANO / Midori (the hatch) / Happy Axe https://t.livepocket.jp/e/6xnrs

1/19(木) 渋谷 WWW (18:50/18:50) ウ山あまね “ムームート” Release Party ウ山あまね / 君島大空 (独奏) / Carl Stone / 諭吉佳作/men / 俚謡山脈 https://www-shibuya.jp/schedule/015077.php

1/20(金) 有明 ガーデンシアター (18:00/19:00) Rina Sawayama Hold The Girl Tour 2023 https://www.creativeman.co.jp/event/rina-sawayama/

1/21(土) 立川 米軍ハウス (14:00-) と 白と枝 / 浮 / ゆうれい https://twitter.com/tinywoodd

1/21(土) 渋谷 WWW (17:30/18:30) 鬼の右腕 × the hatch https://www-shibuya.jp/schedule/015029.php

1/26(木) 恵比寿 LIQUIDROOM (18:00/19:00) girl in red Japan Tour 2023 https://smash-jpn.com/live/?id=3790

[↑ 1月]

[2月]

2/1(水)-3(金) 青山 Blue Note (2公演) Mark Guiliana https://www.bluenote.co.jp/jp/artists/mark-guiliana/

2/1(水)-3(金) 恵比寿 BLUE NOTE PLACE (17:30/19:00) Low Leaf https://www.bluenoteplace.jp/live/low-leaf-230201/

2/7(火) 渋谷 O-EAST (18:00/19:00) Cigarettes After Sex https://www.creativeman.co.jp/event/cas2023/

2/11(土) 下北沢 lete (19:00/19:30) フジワラサトシ / Eri Nagami https://l-ete.jp/live/2302.html

2/11(土) 高円寺 SUB store (19:00-23:00) SUBspace Vol.18 Jaakko Eino Kalevi https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn6M2fcyVdY/

2/12(日) 八広地域プラザ 吾嬬の里 (13:00/13:30) ブラックナードフェス！vol.5 灰野敬二 & THE HARDY ROCKS / DMBQ / 曽我部恵一 / 一色萌とザ・ファントムギフト / 三沢洋紀バンドセット (小池実、露木達也、佐京泰之) / SAKA-SAMA / ほたるたち / Superyou / 浅井直樹 / 佐藤幸雄 (元・すきすきスウィッチ) / 武田理沙 / 背前逆族 / 団地ノ宮 / 山口やまぐと地獄少年 / Ghostleg / 山口やまぐAnother Hell Meeting / SPOILMAN / 水いらず https://www.tumblr.com/blacknerdfes

2/12(日) 八丁堀 七針 (18:00/18:30) Eri Nagami / さかゆめ / ポニョ http://www.ftftftf.com/

2/12(日) 渋谷 O-EAST (18:00/19:00) 2023 deca joins tour "REVERIE'S EDGE" https://www.bigromanticrecords.com/single-post/decajoins2023

2/13(月) 恵比寿 ガーデンホール (18:00/19:00) Kula Shaker Japan Tour 2023 https://www.creativeman.co.jp/event/kula-shaker2023/

2/15(水)-16(木) 後楽園 TOKYO DOME CITY HALL (18:00/19:00) Pavement Japan Tour 2023 https://www.creativeman.co.jp/event/pavement23/

2/15(水) お台場 Zepp DiverCity (18:00/19:00) Kehlani https://www.livenation.co.jp/show/1400129/kehlani/tokyo/2023-02-15/ja

2/15(水) 渋谷 O-EAST (18:00/19:00) Wet Leg Japan Tour 2023 https://www.beatink.com/products/detail.php?product_id=12763

2/17(金) 六本木 Billboard Live TOKYO (2公演) Salyu Psychedelic Rock GIG http://www.billboard-live.com/pg/shop/show/index.php?mode=detail1&event=13901&shop=1

2/17(金) 渋谷 O-EAST (18:00/19:00) Wet Leg Japan Tour 2023 https://www.beatink.com/products/detail.php?product_id=12763

2/17(金) 豊洲 PIT (18:30/19:30) AURORA The Gods We Can Touch Asia Tour 2023 https://www.creativeman.co.jp/event/aurora2023/

2/18(土) 渋谷 O-EAST (18:00/19:00) Fontaines D.C. Japan Tour 2023 https://smash-jpn.com/live/?id=3780

2/19(日) 尾山台 Fluss (15:30/16:00) そうすれば、うつくしい 浮 / 横山 雄 / 山田俊二 https://fluss.es/11779

2/19(日) 東京ドーム (15:00/17:30) Red Hot Chili Peppers World Tour 2023 Live in Japan https://www.livenation.co.jp/redhotchilipeppers2023

2/20(月) 神田 POLARIS (19:00/19:30) 馬喰町バンド / 浮と港 https://polaris230220.peatix.com/view

2/21(火) お台場 Zepp DiverCity (18:00/19:00) Phoebe Bridgers Reunion Tour https://smash-jpn.com/live/?id=3824

2/21(火) 青山 月見ル君想フ (19:00-) VINI "My Mom Doesn't Like This" 7inch release party in Tokyo https://vini230221.peatix.com/

2/24(金) 恵比寿 ガーデンホール (18:15/19:00) Wallows "Tell Me That It's Over" World Tour Asia 2023 Tokyo https://aegx.jp/schedule/02/2023/867/

2/24(金) よみうり大手町ホール (18:30/19:00) 俗の細道 空気階段 / ビスケットブラザーズ https://twitter.com/bisubura_kuki

2/25(土)-26(日) 赤坂 草月ホール 滑稽 Aマッソ https://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/event/2022/026858.html

2/26(日) 下北沢 ADRIFT (18:00/19:00) SADFRANK "TOURNURE" https://adrift-shimokita.com/sadfrank-tournure/

2/26(日) 下北沢 LIVE HAUS (19:00-) The Buildings Japan tour 2023 The Buildings / LIGHTERS / Cairophenomenons https://twitter.com/succhiri

2/27(月)-28(火) 青山 Blue Note (2公演) MonoNeon https://www.bluenote.co.jp/jp/artists/mononeon/

2/27(月) 渋谷 WWW (18:30/19:00) ドーナツのあな 角銅真実 band set / キセル https://www-shibuya.jp/schedule/016178.php

[↑ 1月 | ↑ 2月]

[midorihirano-news]

Atsuko Hatano & Midori Hirano : “Water Ladder” out on Alien Transistor

Format: LP / CD / Digital

Following their recent solo releases “Soniscope” (Dauw) and “Cells #5” (Important Records), Berlin-based multi-instrumentalist Midori Hirano and Tokyo based string experimentalist Atsuko Hatano have teamed up for their first collaborative full-length: Water Ladder! An intense, multilayered continuation of earlier collaborations (Atsuko was featured on Midori’s debut LP back in 2006), the foundation for this new collaborative album was laid when they shared stages in Berlin (Ausland) and Japan in 2019. Working remotely at first, they later recorded parts of the album in Nara’s sonihouse (using omnidirectional polyhedral speakers).

Water Ladder is out now and you can order it in our shop or stream it via this link: https://linktr.ee/midorihirano_atsukohatano

Bandcamp: https://midorih.bandcamp.com/album/water-ladder

[adsmusiconstellations]

Jim O'Rourke - Shutting Down Here (2020)

http://editionsmego.com/releases/portraits-grm 

[radiophd]

atsuko hatano -- fissure

[natsthinkitythinkthinkthonk]

Some Tweets Remember Keiji Fujiwara

Keiji Fujiwara died of cancer at the age of 55. The news was devastating for the seiyuu community. Many seiyuu are remembering and looking back on their times with Fujiwara and the impact he made on them. A lot of anime I’ve watched wouldn’t have been the same without Fujiwara. From Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood to Dr. Stone, he shaped a lot of characters that I look back and smile thinking about. 

The following were all translated by @granblue_en on Twitter.

Takuya Eguchi

[original tweet | translation source]

Kaori Nazuka

[original tweet | translation source]

Tetsuya Fukuhara (creative director, Granblue Fantasy)

[original tweet | translation source]

Emiri Katou

[original tweet | translation source]

Yuuki Ono

[original tweet | translation source]

Madoka Yonezawa

[original tweet | translation source]

Tomoyo Kurosawa

[original tweet | translation source]

Koichi Haruta (former producer)

[original tweet | translation source]

Minoru Shiraishi

[original tweet | translation source]

Yuuichi Nakamura

[original tweet | translation source]

The following were translated by lig0schndr on Reddit

Ayana Taketatsu

Tomokazu Seki

Megumi Ogata

Mariya Ise

Nobunaga Shimazaki

Showtaro Morikubo

Marina Inoue

Romi Park

Natsuki Hanae

Toshiyuki Toyonaga

Kazuhiko Inoue

Yuki Kaji

Hiroki Yasumoto

Jouji Nakata

Katsuyuki Konishi

Shouta Aoi

Kensho Ono

Noriko Hidaka

Rie Tanaka

Kikuko Inoue

Ami Koshimizu

Megumi Han

Arisa Komiya

Ryotaro Okiayu

Kenjiro Tsuda

Nozomi Yamamoto

Kanako Kondo

Haruka Kudo

Hitomi Harada

Miyu Tomita

Wataru Hatano

Atsushi Abe

Suzuko Mimori

Atsuko Tanaka

Aya Suzaki

Sayaka Ohara

Asami Imai

Daisuke Hirakawa

Hikaru Akao

Yui Ishikawa

Toa Yukinari*

Kotono Mitsuishi*

Nobuhiko Okamoto (blog)

Nana Mizuki (blog)

Toshiyuki Morikawa (blog)

Satoshi Hino (blog)

Tatsuhisa Suzuki (blog)

Chie Nakamura (blog)*

* not translated

Taketatsu Ayana (Taketatsu and Fujiwara both voiced characters in Dagashi Kashi and co hosted a series of bonus videos released with the Blu-rays of the series)

Fujiwara Keiji-san.

When we had a photograph session together for a TV show, even though you said, "I'm shy, so I can't really talk much," after the session started and I was nervous you kindly threw me a lifeline and chatted with me a lot, and even at live events and such you've saved me so much.

I wanted to spend more time with you.

I wanted to thank you directly.

_______

Seki Tomokazu (Seki and Fujiwara both voiced characters for the same series several times including PSYCHO-PASS, Sengoku BASARA, and Hajime no Ippo)

The way you looked when you came to the studio with your script sticking out of your back pocket was so cool, and I often copied you. When we went to karaoke together, I would put on a song that had a video of your acting as a prank and put you in a bind so many times. I wanted to play around with you again. This feels too soon... Fujiwara-san. Truly, thank you for everything.

_______

Ogata Megumi

I've had the honor of working with you on various, many sets but... my strongest impression, is actually not from an anime, but from the drama CD "Radical Hospital".

Dr. Sakaki... Please say it's a joke like you always do...?

Fujiwara Keiji-san. Truly, thank you for everything. Please rest peacefully.

_______

Ise Mariya (Ise and Fujiwara both voiced main characters in HUNTER X HUNTER, and Ise references Fujiwara's role as Leorio in this tweet)

What I remember is His white shirt and the sunglasses he wore His gallant figure standing before the microphone His bashful smile when having friendly conversations His stylish behavior when everyone goes drinking Both his voice and his acting were so cool Everything about him was wonderful

Keiji-san really felt like Leorio to me I have so many pleasant and fun memories Thank you so much

_______

Shimazaki Nobunaga

Fujiwara Keiji-san, I pray from my heart that you rest in peace.

_______

Morikubo Showtaro

The tears won't stop.

_______

Inoue Marina

His voice, his acting, his smile, I loved them all.

_______

Park Romi (Park and Fujiwara both voiced important characters in Fullmetal Alchemist)

He just recovered...

Be it with Hagane, or Muji, or FA he was everyone's older brother...

He truly was Lieutenant Colonel Hughes.

Early Far too early...

Kei-chan You fought hard against what ailed you... Please rest well...

Your casual comments Even now I treasure.

Tonight I honor you...

I pray you rest in peace...

Notes: I'm not positive, but I believe in regards to the second line

"Hagane" likely refers to the first airing of Fullmetal Alchemist in 2003 that used the title 「鋼の錬金術師」 (Hagane no Renkinjutsushi).

"Muji" seems like it refers to Zoids, the first Zoids anime series that is often referred to colloquially as "Muji Zoids", "No Label Zoids", to differentiate it from other Zoid series. In this series, Fujiwara voiced Irvine, a main supporting character and older brother figure to the main characters.

"FA" likely refers to the second airing of Fullmetal Alchemist in 2009 that used the titled 「鋼の錬金術師 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST」 and thus is sometimes referred to as "FA".

_______

Hanae Natsuki

This is too sad...

_______

Toshiyuki Toyonaga

My heart aches... The words won't come out...

_______

Inoue Kazuhiko

Eh, Fujiwara Keiji... No way. It's too early. I remembered well the times we worked together in the studio. It's too early. I'm so saddened.

_______

Kaji Yuuki (Kaji and Fujiwara both voiced characters for the same series several times including Magi and Shingeki no Kyojin)

Keiji-san. I wanted to talk with you more. Wouldn't it be wonderful if I had a father like you, if I could become a man like you, that kind of stuff, always, I thought to myself... I should have told you so. I wanted to talk with you more. I'm full of regret. I want to see you.

_______

Yasumoto Hiroki

Words don't suffice. He was cool. Truly. We had talked about him visiting my place and drinking some unopened wine.

_______

Nakata Jouji First tweet, and reply

He was shy and gave off the impression that he didn't like superficial relationships, but when I tried talking to him he replied with a bashful smile, that's what I recall. When I heard he returned to work and was doing independent work, I thought on my own that he was doing well, but... You must have had it hard, huh. However, you weren't the kind of person to say that out loud... You stayed true to yourself until the very end. I pray for you.

I wanted to meet with you and talk with you again.

_______

Konishi Katsuyuki

No way. When I was a fledgling, because his place was in the neighborhood he invited me for a meal, and I was really happy about that. I wanted to meet with you again.

_______

Shouta Aoi

I can no longer meet you again. By all means, I wanted to meet you again.

Just how much encouragement I received from the acting of that wonderful voice I grew accustomed to hearing from a young age.

From now on and always that wonderful voice of yours will remain in our hearts and ears.

Thank you for all the wonderful times you gave us.

_______

Ono Kensho

Fujiwara Keiji-san. He really is cool, and he is someone I look up to. We have the same birthday, and on my own I felt like we had an affinity... I pray from my heart that you rest in peace.

_______

Hidaka Noriko

Fujiwara-san...

I thought I could meet you again someday at the studio, truly unfortunate.

Thank you for everything. Please rest in peace...

_______

Tanaka Rie

Fujiwara Keiji-san...

The last time we met was during the recording for the Granblue Fantasy game...

I pray from my heart that you rest in peace.

_______

Inoue Kikuko

Kei-chan, I'm so sad.

You fought against illness for a long time... You truly gave it your all. Please rest well in heaven.

I won't forget your shy, bashful, and kind smile.

_______

Koshimizu Ami (Koshimizu and Fujiwara both voiced important characters in Eureka 7, and Koshimizu references her role as Anemone and Fujiwara's role as Holland in this tweet, as well as Tsujitani Kouji who voiced Dewey Novak in Eureka 7 and passed away in 2018)

Dewey and Holland, please stay a little longer.

I want you to stay. I wanted you to stay.

If you're not there, we can't fly freely...

Because you were there, we were able to live freely.

Thank you but I still don't want to say goodbye.

Sorry that Anemone is like this. If I could say one selfish thing please come back...

_______

Han Megumi (Han and Fujiwara both voiced main characters in HUNTER X HUNTER, and Han references Fujiwara's role as Leorio in this tweet)

Just last night, during HUNTER's rebroadcast, we just saw off Leorio as he departed for his trip, Fujiwara-san.

Family and comrade, always thinking of his friends and a warm man, a perfect fit, my beloved senpai.

Always with the message title "Miss lovely forehead"

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_CUIyQAKMX/?igshid=14scn4kzgey86

Forever, and ever...

_______

Arisa Komiya

Fujiwara Keiji-san. I had the honor of working with you for 1 year on Go-Busters, you were always so cool on set, it was my first dubbing experience and I learned so much from you. I wanted to work with you again. I pray from my heart that you rest in peace.

_______

Ryotaro Okiayu

I participated in "Hoshi Koe" at the Saitama venue last year, and you attended, Fujiwara-san.

I read your letters.

The last time I met you was back stage there.

It had been several years before then.

That's how it goes.

Thanks so much for everything.

Note: Hoshi Koe is the name of a series of events held in Japan by AIR AGENCY, a talent management and production company founded by Fujiwara Keiji in 2006.

_______

Kenjiro Tsuda

His white shirt His light colored sunglasses His cynical smile His casual way of walking into the studio His unshaven face His still shadow at Planetarium His husky voice His retreating figure as he left His appearance in a coat when he slowly spoke in his last moments

was cool

Thank you so much

Note: Planetarium is likely also referencing Hoshi Koe, which was held at planetariums in various cities in Japan.

_______

Yamamoto Nozomi

We acted together for the first time in UN-GO, and a while later when I greeted you at another set, you remembered me, saying, "I've met you before, right?" After that, when on the set for Utawarerumono you noticed my Ironman iPhone case and chatted with me, I was truly happy about each and every thing. I pray that you rest in peace.

_______

Kondo Kanako

I can't believe it. I really liked your cool roughness. Fujiwara-san. I pray that you rest in peace.

_______

Kudou Haruka

Is it because of the air pressure that my head hurts, or because I cried too much that my head hurts, I can't sort out my feelings. However, more than these sad feelings, I want to say so many times, "thank you."

Fujiwara-san.

We were together for my seiyuu debut work "Honey and Clover", and from there with "Noein" and "DEATH NOTE", our work together continued. I didn't know my right hand from my left, and you gave me so much advice.

On set you always spoiled me, listening to my trivial chatter with a smile.

I entered college, and even when I cut off all ties to the industry up to that point and distanced myself from work, every half a year you would send me a message asking "Are you doing all right?"

I entered my fourth year of college, and when I said to you, "I want to return to work!" you got a little angry, but you earnestly heard me out. Even though I caused trouble to a lot of people, you saying "Welcome Back!" with a smile has always supported me.

4 years after returning to work, when I was worried that I wasn't doing as well as I had hoped, you said "It'll be all right!" and gave me a push on the back, and I was able to move forward.

I really have been spoiled by you for so so long.

You taught me so many things, I couldn't hope to write them all out. About acting, about movies, about novels, about life.

Even now I still have the novel I received from you right on my bookshelf. From now on, every time I watch a Kubrick or Victor Erice movie, I feel I will remember you.

The fact that there will no longer be replies to my messages, and the fact that I can no longer see you, really really make me sad, but you will always be in my heart. It's all right. I'm an adult now, too. I want to become an adult like you, someone who is loved by many, and someone who can guide others.

Thank you so much.

_______

Harada Hitomi (Harada and Fujiwara both voiced characters for Senran Kagura, and Harada references Fujiwara's role as Kiriya in this tweet)

Keiji-san. Kiriya-sensei.

I've been helped, so much by you. Thank you so much.

_______

Tomita Miyu

Fujiwara Keiji-san, I had the honor of acting together with you for the first time in Kotobuki Hikoutai. Warm, and yet mischievous, I truly loved acting with that voice of yours.

I pray from my heart that you rest in peace.

_______

Hatano Wataru

Fujiwara Keiji-san. Across various works, I've been in your debt. When you called me for "Hoshi Koe", I was really happy. The warm advice from a senpai I look up to, and the smile after a recording session. I couldn't possibly forget. I pray that you rest in peace.

_______

Abe Atsushi

I've been in your debt since when I debuted. I see... We can't act together anymore...

_______

Mimori Suzuko

I'm thankful that I had the honor of working on the same set as you. Thank you so much.

_______

Tanaka Atsuko

It's a sad sunset...

_______

Suzaki Aya

I'm truly saddened.

_______

Ohara Sayaka

It's a lie

_______

Imai Asami

............

_______

Hirakawa Daisuke

Keiji-san... Keiji-san... I'm so sad... I want to see you... Keiji-san...

Hirakawa Daisuke

_______

Akao Hikaru (Akao and Fujiwara both voiced characters for Back Street Girls, and Akao references this in this tweet)

I'm still in disbelief even after a new day has dawned and I can't quite get the right words. I feel like a hole opened up in my heart. Since I was young through anime you showed me this fun world and as a member of Gokudols, I looked forward to the day I could meet you again.

I pray that you rest well.

_______

Ishikawa Yui (Ishikawa and Fujiwara both voiced characters for Shingeki no Kyojin, and Ishikawa references Fujiwara's role as Hannes in this tweet)

[Yui] That voice that I heard so many times when I was a child. Shingeki's Hannes-san was also, rough, cool, and warm... I loved him. Fujiwara Keiji-san, I pray that you rest in peace.

_______

Yukana

I wanted to act together with you more.

Thank you so much...

I pray that you rest in peace.

_______

Okamoto Nobuhiko

Title: I'm sorry

I was planning to talk about trust and play today, but I hope you'll allow me to do that tomorrow.

I had the honor of doing my first radio show with him. When I was unable to speak well, he laughed at me. When we were recording for the Ao no Exorcist movie and from the start all I was capable of was shouting, he laughed at me. When I kept wearing the same clothes on the set of To Aru, he laughed at me. When I look back on things, it might have been sarcastic laughing, but I only remember the figure of him laughing. And, I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble.

His appearance as an actor, the way he thought about and interpreted the script, what he brought forth, I received so much encouragement and experience from him.

Keiji-san, Truly, truly, thank you so much. I really I love you.

Thank you for everything.

I pray from my heart that you rest in peace.

Notes:

The radio show Okamoto references I believe is "Sorairo Radio", a radio show promoting the anime "Sola" that aired from 2007/3/30 to 2007/7/27 for 19 episodes. During the month of July Okamoto and Fujiwara co-hosted the show.

Okamoto and Fujimura voiced Okamura Rin, the protagonist, and Fujimoto Shiro, Rin's adoptive father, respectively in Ao no Exorcist.

Okamoto and Fujimura voiced Accelerator, a main supporting character, and Kihara Amata, something of a mentor figure to Accelerator, respectively in To Aru Majutsu no Index.

_______

Mizuki Nana

Title: The carnation that arrived at my house 2 weeks ago ☆

At my last place, even plants said to be robust I ended up letting die (>_<) However, ever since I started living at my new place my plants have been really lively! My care for flowers especially has gotten better! Proper ventilation and sunlight really are important after all (laugh)

https://www.mizukinana.jp/blog/photos/2020/blog/nana_phot_20200416.jpg

I found out about Fujiwara Keiji passing away. I had the honor of working together with him for various works, during my first public performance at Tokyo Dome he provided wonderful narration, and at the planetarium in my home prefecture I had the honor of performing together with him... Truly I was blessed with so many irreplaceable experiences. I pray from my heart that you rest in peace.

Notes:

The performance at Tokyo Dome is referencing NANA MIZUKI LIVE CASTLE 2011, a series of live concerts performed at Tokyo Dome by Mizuki Nana on 2011/12/3 and 2011/12/4. Fujiwara provided narration for a short film called PLANETARIUM "Princess Nana of the Heavens" (PLANETARIUM「天界の奈々姫」) which was shown during the concert on both days.

The performance at the planetarium is referencing when Fujiwara and Mizuki co-starred in a Hoshi Koe performance held on 2016/4/24 at the Matsuyama City General Community Center Cosmo Theater. Matsuyama is the capital of the Ehime Prefecture, and Mizuki Nana was born in Niihama, Ehime. Mizuki had also made two blog posts about enjoying rehearsing for the event with Fujiwara and celebrating the successful completion of the event.

_______

Morikawa Toshiyuki

Title: Fujiwara Keiji-san...

Fujiwara Keiji-san... I pray you rest in peace.

It's too sudden. My mind is a mess. Even though I'm someone who works at my own pace... ... Right now, I'm overcome with feelings of loss.

From the time when I was a newcomer, we've been walking together through the ages for over 30 years. As an actor, and as a president, you were truly a friend... Since you were young you were shy and cool, overflowing with chivalry, an existence that even men were charmed by that is "Fujiwara Keiji"

..., It's so painful... the words won't come out. I'm sorry.

I feel that you really must have had it tough fighting against your illness. Now, please rest well.

And, the letters you sent me I will always cherish.

Morikawa Toshiyuki

_______

Hino Satoshi

Title: Keiji-san...

Keiji-san... It's a lie, right...? It's a joke, right...?

This... is too sad...

Keiji-san as a person, as a man, as an actor, you were someone who I respected from the bottom of my heart.

Everything about you was cool, you were someone I admired.

I wanted to learn more and more about various things from you.

Even now I clearly remember the time when on the set of the anime "Shakugan no Shana," as the role of the father, Kantarou, you kindly covered up for and accepted my terrible acting.

Keiji-san, "Dad, thank you so much for everything up to now"

While reflecting on each and every thing I learned from you, I will devote myself towards the sake of the future of the seiyuu industry.

I pray you rest in peace.

Note: Hino and Fujimura voiced Sakai Yuuji, the protagonist, and Sakai Kantarou, Yuuji's father, respectively in Shakugan no Shana.

_______

Suzuki Tatsuhisa

Title: Letter

I hate the idea of something getting overshadowed without anyone knowing about it, so I will write about it here.

Since we first met when I was 19, I've been in your debt for a long time. Since before we started having work together, you'd hear out my concerns and give me advice, and go along with my selfish requests to take me along for drinks. Even though you'd always say, "Waddaya want now, Tattsun," you'd always keep your promises. Whenever we met at the studio you'd always be giving off a pleasant, lazy mood. When you were the sound director you'd say things like "Tattsun, you're the only person I can ask for this," things that I couldn't tell if you were being serious or not. It's only now that I can say this, but I took you seriously every time, and every time I was seriously happy you asked me. The fact that you said those things to me.

Sometimes I'd tell you about how people say that our voices or our acting are similar, and even though you'd reply by saying stuff like, "What? That's gross," behind your sunglasses I could see that the look in your eyes always softened happily. I like chatting in the smoking area, so anytime I'd spot you I'd head straight there. When you'd say, "Yo!" to me, it was a little embarrassing, but I was always happy you did.

I won't talk about acting. That's something I'll keep locked away in my heart.

I know you had it tough. However, I stopped talking about it. Since you hate that.

All I can remember, is you always saying, "Yo! Tattsun," every time you saw me. Gimme a break, let me remember something else, too.

Thank you for always listening to my selfish requests. Thank you for always listening to both my trivial ramblings and my serious talks.

I always thought you were an annoyingly cool old man. You were always the best. You were always the strongest.

Everything about you is cool. So I envy you.

When I go over there, I'm gonna have a ton of stories for you. Before I do, please make sure to find some good sake and tobacco over there. It might take a while, but I'm definitely going to have, a ton I want to talk to you about.

It's about time I wrapped things up. This is a letter that will never be read by its recipient, after all, so there's no point in going on for too long.

Let's meet again with a smile. Anytime, anywhere.

With love.

[dustedmagazine]

Dust, Volume 6, Number 11

HAAi

As it was with September, so it is with October. After what felt like the dam breaking on all those albums optimistically held back by the pandemic, October continued to rain down releases and there was no shortage of them to cover. As ever, if diversity’s your thing, we have it: From pimp-rap to free jazz, death-metal to AM gold, jungle to Azerbaijani guitar jams, we got it all for you to peruse. Contributions this go ‘round come care of Ray Garraty, Ian Mathers, Bill Meyer, Jonathan Shaw, Andrew Forell, Tim Clarke, Justin Cober-Lake, Patrick Masterson and MIchael Rosenstein.

AllBlack — No Shame 3 (Play Runners Association/Empire)

Just when we thought that pimp-rap was going out of business, AllBlack blessed us with No Shame 3. It is a lot of what it claims: playfulness with no shame, ignorant beefs, endless balling during California nights and showing off in earnest. AllBlack alludes to the fact that even though he’s getting that rap check, he’s far from quitting the pimp game: “Made 40K in eight days, that was just off pimpin'.” But behind this happy façade is something darker that’s looming on: “As I got older, I ain't scared, I guess I'm cool with death / You speak the truth and they gon' knock you down like Malcolm X.” While admitting that rap is a cutthroat game, AllBlack is only one of the few artists of a younger generation who is ready to pay respects in his songs to the OGs — the godfathers of pimp-rap, to Willie D, Dru Down and Too $hort. The standout track here is “Pizza Rolls,” where DaBoii and Cash Kidd drop in to deliver the funniest lines. 

Ray Garraty

Bardo Pond — Adrop/Circuit VIII (Three Lobed Recordings)

Adrop / Circuit VIII by Bardo Pond

There are plenty of reasons to do small, limited runs of certain releases, in music as in other artistic fields, ranging from the brutally practical/logistical to the aesthetic, but when the material released in that fashion is good enough, it can be a relief to see it given further life (and not just digitally). This year saw the mighty Three Lobed Recordings (who we featured in an anniversary Listed here) has seen fit to reissue on vinyl two Bardo Pond LP-length pieces that were originally issued in limited run series back in 2006 and 2008. They were in good (and varied) company then, but resonate together in a pretty special way, whether it’s the tripartite Adrop wandering from gnarled, crepuscular grind to violin-powered epiphany or back down to delicate nocturnal acoustics. The longer Circuit VIII doesn’t have as distinct phases but still builds to an all-time Bardo Pond-style crescendo, featuring Isabel Sollenberger’s only vocals of the duo. Even with a band and label this consistently on point, these particular recordings are worth the wider dissemination, whether considered as archival releases or just a hell of a double album.

Ian Mathers

John Butcher & Rhodri Davies — Japanese Duets (Weight of Wax)

Japanese Duets by John Butcher & Rhodri Davies

There’s a bittersweetness about Japanese Duets that’s as pungent as the puckered, perfectly placed reports that English saxophonist John Butcher sometimes punches out of his horns. This is the third in an ongoing series of download-only releases that Butcher, idled by COVID-19, has culled from his archive, The Memory of Live Music, and the unbearable lightness of its format, only accentuates the sense of lost opportunities and experiences. One of the things that a touring musician gains in exchange for their embrace of uncertainty is the chance to go to some unlikely place and undergo something extraordinary. The four-page PDF that comes with this download reproduces photos from Butcher and Welsh harpist Rhodri Davies’ 2004 tour of Japan, which took in swanky museums and shoebox-sized jazz cafes; each image looks like a moment worth living. But if all you can do is hear the evidence, that’s not exactly settling. This improvising duo was audibly on a roll, pushing reeds and strings to sound quite unlike their usual selves, and challenging each other to move beyond logic to the rightness of jointly made and imagined moments. Thanks, guys, for sharing the memories. 

Bill Meyer

Ceremonial Bloodbath — The Tides of Blood (Sentient Ruin Laboratories)

The Tides of Blood by Ceremonial Bloodbath

Yikes — talk about truth in advertising. Canadian death-metal band Ceremonial Bloodbath delivers the goods promised by their moniker and this new LP’s title. It’s a repellent record created by dudes that play in a bunch of other death-metal bands based in British Columbia: Grave Infestation, Encoffinate (not Encoffination), Nightfucker and numerous others that tunnel even further under the broader public’s attention. Give these guys credit for their single-mindedness: None of those bands is likely to make you feel any happier about the human condition. Neither will listening to The Tides of Blood, but it’s a better record than any that those other acts have released. The songs are low-tech, dissonant and about as subtle as a bulldozer’s blade knocking through your front door. In other words, the record is largely in line with what we’ve come to expect from the death-metal recently dug up by Sentient Ruin Laboratories, and for a certain kind of listener, that’s a good thing. Check out “The Throat of Belial,” which comes on hard and fast, then downshifts into second gear and unleashes a tangled, coruscating sort-of-guitar-solo. The mechanical chug reasserts itself, then speeds up again, unleashing steam and the smell of something… organic. The song has a ruthless momentum, as does the rest of the record. Pretty good Halloween music if you want to scare all the trick-or-treaters off your lawn.

Jonathan Shaw

Cut Worms – Nobody Lives Here Anymore (Jagjaguwar)

Max Clarke evokes a wistful nostalgia for an America that existed perhaps only in the mind, the warm campfire glow of an era personified by The Everly Brothers’ harmonies, the twanging guitars of country rock and 1970s singer songwriters. On his new album as Cut Worms, Clarke literally doubles down on his musical project. Nobody Lives Here Anymore comes in at 17 songs that, while individually fine enough, meld into one another and gradually fade from the memory as the album unwinds. Clarke never quite transcends his influences and is not a strong enough lyricist to engage at this length. The effect is similar to that of The Traveling Wilburys where the whole is lesser than the sum of its parts. That said, Clarke is engaging company with a voice that splits the difference between the aforementioned siblings, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty. He has an ear for a melody and skillfully recreates an AM radio sound that trips the memory for anyone who grew up with this music either as inescapable background of their lives or soundtrack for their teen dreams and heartaches. 

Andrew Forell

Dead End America — Crush the Machine (Southern Lord)

Crush the Machine by Dead End America

This new EP by Dead End America (DEA — see what they did there?) comprises four short, piledriving hardcore songs, all directly addressed to the current occupant of the Oval Office. “Bullet for 45 (Straight From a .45)” neatly captures the EP’s essential sentiments, and also suggests the general level of restraint exercised by the whole enterprise. Hint: Restraint and nuance are not Dead End America’s strong suits. That’s not surprising, given the folks involved. The band and record were conceived by Steve “Thee Hippy Slayer” Hanford, late of Poison Idea, and of this world. It’s pretty wonderful that this is some of the last music Hanford produced — pissed off and irreverent to the very end. Additional contributors include Nick “Rex Everything” Oliveri (the Dwarves), Mike IX Williams (Eyehategod), Blaine Cook (the Fartz) and Tony Avila (World of Lies). Sort of remarkable that a record including players from all those legendarily vile, venomous bands doesn’t just spontaneously self-combust; maybe it helps that they focus their collective rage on such a deserving target. RIP Steve Hanford. The wrong people are dying.

Jonathan Shaw

Chloe Alison Escott — Stars Under Contract (Chapter Music)

Stars Under Contract by Chloe Alison Escott

Chloe Alison Escott is the frontwoman of Tasmanian post-punk duo The Native Cats, and her pre-transition solo album, The Long O, released on Bedroom Suck back in 2014, received justified plaudits upon its release. (It remains a low-key favorite of mine.) New solo piano-and-vocals album Stars Under Contract was all recorded in one day by Evelyn Ida Morris (Pikelet), which lends these performances an on-the-fly liveliness. For the most part, it’s rollicking fun, with some wryly funny lyrics that betray Escott’s sideline in standup comedy. This performative confidence comes through in early highlight “There’s Money in the Basement,” which has the jaunty barroom bounce of “Benny and the Jets.” Later, Escott reaches for the heavens on single “Back Behind the Eyes Again,” with a truly heartbreaking piano progression. Though the 16 tracks are wisely interspersed with short instrumentals such as “What Are You Reaching For,” “Evening, Sunshine” and “Playfair,” 43 minutes is a lot of piano-and-vocals songs to get through in a single sitting. On closing track “Permanent Thief,” there’s a tantalizing flash of drum machine and bass, which could be a nod there’s another Native Cats album on the way soon. 

Tim Clarke

Eiko Ishibashi — Mugen no Juunin - Immortal - Original Soundtrack (King)

If you sit up nights fretting about how Eiko Ishibashi and her partner, Jim O’Rourke, pay the bills, this music may be your melatonin for your worried mind. Immortal is the soundtrack for Blade of the Immortal, an anime adaption of a popular manga that’s been picked up by Amazon Prime. Ishibashi composed and played the music with contributions from Tetuzi Akiyama, joe Talia, Atsuko Hatano, and O’Rourke, who also mixed the music. Ishibashi’s music echoes the affect-stirring melodies of her song-oriented material and the careful sound placement of her recent electro-acoustic work for Black Truffle; when the swirl of keyboard tones looms over her piano on “Animal,” there’s no mistaking it for anyone else’s work. But this is still made for a mass market, with unabashed classical music lifts and big, booming electronic percussion that would make a multiplex’s walls throb if you gave it a chance. There’s no physical release or Bandcamp option, so if you want to check this out, Apple Music and iTunes are your options. 

Bill Meyer

Ela Minus — Acts of Rebellion (Domino)

Colombian musician Gabriela Jimeno’s debut album as Ela Minus is a collection of original tracks that merge songcraft and club sounds into an assured mix of electronica on which she plays all the instruments and sings in both Spanish and English. After spending her teenage years drumming for hardcore band Ratón P��rez, Jimeno studied jazz drums as well as the design and construction of synthesizers, and she eschews the use of computers to create her music. She brings a DIY spirit to her work combined with meticulous production style that gives acts of rebellion the experimental edge of early 1980s independent synthpop. The highlight "Megapunk” is musically close in spirit to Cabaret Voltaire, its defiant lyrics — “There’s No Way Out But to Fight” — tying freedom of expression to wider human progress. A textured and nuanced album, Ela Minus joins an ever-growing group of South American producers to tune into.

Andrew Forell

Erik Friedlander — Sentinel (Skipstone)

Sentinel by Erik Friedlander

Cellist Erik Friedlander seems to pop up in the oddest places, playing now with the Mountain Goats, then with Dave Douglas, and finding a little time for film scoring on the side. It's reasonable that for new album Sentinel, he'd connect with a couple of other artists — guitarist Ava Mendoza and percussionist Diego Espinosa — equally comfortable with finding unexpected sounds in a variety of styles. The group, given their background, sounds their best when they're blending genres. “Flash” starts off as new jazz, turns into rock for a moment, then some strange cello lead pushes it into alien territory. At the edges of the trio's work, heavy rock often feels about to break out, but the group refrains from ever indulging that impulse. “Feeling You” even provides some light, pretty pop, allowing the band to show its full breadth.

Friedlander's compositions provide the basis for the album, but Sentinel never feels like just his album. The band, assembled for what sounds like a hurried set of takes, found their partnership quickly, turning the pieces into fluid performances. “Bristle Cone” lets all three members shine and functions like a microcosm of the disc as a whole: As soon as you think it's a guitar album, you start paying attention to the percussive elements; as soon as you remember it's experimental cello work, you're back to guitar rock. The trio's engagement with the music and with each other comes through, the playful innovation guiding each piece into a multifaceted whole.

Justin Cober-Lake

HAAi — Put Your Head Above the Parakeets EP (Mute) 

Put Your Head Above The Parakeets by HAAi

Though it was Teneil Throssell’s mixes that initially made her name as HAAi (and remain strong even amid the pandemic, her latest for XLR8R another beauty), her own productions are a wonder unto themselves that demand repeat listens even as they come a trickling single or carefully cultivated EP at a time. The Karratha, Australia native, Coconut Beats hostess and Rinse and Worldwide FM veteran’s latest is the delightfully titled Keep Your Head Above the Parakeets EP, pure headphones music meant for sunrises, sunsets, walks in deep snow, rain-swept moors, you name it. Her talent is in balancing airy synth melodies with ever-shifting percussion influenced primarily by jungle, breaks and (ultimately) house; when people talk about psychedelic dance music, this is something like what I always hope to hear. Another unmissable missive.

Patrick Masterson

Hübsch, Martel, Zoubek — Ize (Insub)

Ize by HÜBSCH, MARTEL, ZOUBEK

Decades have passed since Derek Bailey wrote his book, Improvisation. At that time, it was already clear that the intentionally non-idiomatic music he pioneered and practiced was a subset of the more universal matter of improvising as a necessary aspect of playing music. It was also becoming clear that non-idiomatic improvisation’s aspirations and proscriptions amounted to a new but quite identifiable idiom, and this Swiss trio is okay with that. If you told Carl Ludwig Hübsch (tuba, objects),Pierre-Yves Martel (viola da gamba harmonica, pitch pipes) and Philip Zoubek (piano, synthesizer) that the music on Ize sounds a bit like the British ensemble AMM’s, they’d likely nod and thank you for noticing. They’re not trying to make a new kind of music, they’re trying to be good at a kind of music that they love, and on those terms, they succeed. Aside from the occasional Feldman-esque piano phrase, they mostly trade in layers of tone and texture, operating in complementary parallel to one another, taking the listener through states of meditative stillness and slow-motion vertigo. 

Bill Meyer

J Majik — Your Sound - Photek & Digital V​.​I​.​P 12” (Infrared) 

J Majik - Your Sound - Photek & Digital V.I.P by J Majik / Photek / Digital

Released on the same day as the “This Sound” single that allegedly was refashioned from “unfinished jungle project from the vaults,” “Your Sound” was further proof that UK drum n’ bass vet Jamie Spratling bka J Majik still has plenty of material from the golden era to get out into the world. The original is a certified mid-’90s Metalheadz classic, but Photek and Digital’s reworking on the a-side “originally only destined for the dubplate boxes of the ultra-elite” has been floating in the ether for years as an alternative; its light Amen sequences and booming bass will have you yearning for every closed club you can’t attend. J Majik’s remix of his own tune on the flip was originally the b-side to a 1997 Goldie VIP edit, so having a more readily available remaster here does it a world of good. One for the headz, obviously.

Patrick Masterson

KTL — VII (Editions Mego)

VII by KTL

Most of KTL’s recordings have been seeded by theater and film soundtrack commissions. But when Stephen O’Malley (Sunn 0))), Khanate) and Peter Rehberg (Pita, Fenn O’Berg) found themselves in Berlin this past March with more time on their hands than they expected, they booked themselves into Mouse On Mars’ MOM Paraverse Studio sans portfolio and set to work. The first track, “The Director,” seems to acknowledge the situation by introducing the Shephard-Risset glissando, a repeated scale that sounds like it is endlessly ascending or descending. The titular figure never arrives, but while you’re waiting, fat looped electronics impart the experience of going somewhere while leaving you exactly where you’re at. The director isn’t the only value missing from this equation; O’Malley’s default sonic signature, a massive metallic wall of sound, has been softened to a close-shaving buzz that rattles and circles around within Rehberg’s synthetic/sonic biodome. That’s right, while you’ve been baking bread and putting on that COVID-15, KTL has actually lost weight! 

Bill Meyer

Lisa Cay Miller/Vicky Mettler/Raphaël Foisy-Couture — Grind Halts (Notice Recordings)

Grind Halts by Lisa Cay Miller/Vicky Mettler/Raphaël Foisy-Couture

Montreal-based guitarist Vicky Mettler, bassist Raphaël Foisy-Couture and Vancouver-based pianist Lisa Cay Miller are all new names to me. For their trio collaboration on Notice Recordings, the three work their way through a set of eight free improvisations that range from one and a half minutes to eight minutes long. The combination of piano, guitar and upright bass is striking from the start: Miller slips seamlessly between the keyboard and inside-string preparations, mostly eschewing readily identifiable sonorities of her instrument. Mettler’s resonant, brittle electric guitar is the perfect foil to Miller’s piano and one often has a hard time teasing apart where inside piano strings end and guitar strings begin. Add to that Foisy-Couture’s dark low-end bass, which he attacks with groaning scrapes, shuddering arco and assorted string treatments. The three engage in active improvisations, plying their respective instruments into a collective whole while steering clear of garrulous interaction. The fourth piece, “Lower” is as close to trio exchanges as things get, opening up the ensemble sound to allow shredded guitar textures, resounding piano chords and scabrous bass abrasions to accrue into pulsating timbral layers. A piece like “As It Spins” is more about process, adding in the rumble and clatter of assorted percussive detritus, used on their own and to activate the strings of the instruments, which jangle with resultant shimmering overtones. The pieces often segue one into the other, creating an enveloping sound-space throughout. Based on this one, I look forward to hearing more from each of the participants.

Michael Rosenstein

Mint Field — Sentimiento Mundial (Felte)

Sentimiento Mundial by Mint Field

Mexico City-based duo Estrella del Sol Sánchez (voice, guitar) and Sebastian Neyra (bass) enlist drummer Callum Brown to expand the range of their dreamily psychedelic shoegaze on Mint Field’s second album Sentimiento Mundial. Sánchez has the breathy cadence of Rachel Goswell and moves easily between an almost folky introspection in her guitar playing to squalling walls of sound underpinned by Brown’s often motorik drums on tracks like “Contingenicia” and “No te caigas.” The bulk of the album is more reflective, Sánchez’ Spanish vocals close to your ear as she concentrates on atmosphere and dynamics. The result is a dreamscape that lulls, then hits with febrile bursts of restless dread, an impressive collection that fans of 4AD in particular should recognize and embrace. 

Andrew Forell

Takuji Naka/Tim Olive — Minouragatake (Notice Recordings)

Minouragatake by Takuji Naka/Tim Olive

Minouragatake (a mountain outside of Kyoto, Japan) is the fourth recording by Takuji Naka and Tim Olive, a duo that has played together for close to a decade now, melding together music of slowly evolving rich timbral abstraction. Each are consummate collaborators and for this session, they make their way across the seven untitled tracks with steadfast focus to the nuanced details of their respective sound sources. Naka utilizes “long loops of sagging/distressed cassette tape winding into and out of similarly distressed portable tape players, with real-time analog processing.” Olive uses his regular array of magnetic pickups and low-tech analog electronics, drawing out volatile hums and changeable striations that coalesce with his partner’s slowly devolving layers of sound. These pieces are imbued with unflappable deliberation, each sound integrated into the cohesive, gradually unfolding improvisations. Each of the pieces sound as if one is tuning in mid-stream and end with a sense that they could continue on indefinitely. Rather than adhering to any formal developmental arcs, the two patiently sit within unfurling sonic worlds as layers ebb and flow. Naka’s degraded tapes lend an aura of catching wafts from some distant celestial emission which Olive subtly shades and colors with hisses, whispered mutable fuzzed gradations and aural grit. Snatches of scumbled lyricism morph into static-laden swirls; washes of flaked and tattered textures disperse into shuddering thrums. Naka doesn’t record much so it’s good to hear another project from him. Olive has been on a particular roll as of late and this one is a laudable addition to his discography.

Michael Rosenstein

Okuden Quartet — Every Dog Has Its Day But It Doesn’t Matter Because Fat Cat Is Getting Fatter (ESP-Disk)

Every Dog Has Its Day But It Doesn't Matter Because Fat Cat Is Getting Fatter by Okuden Quartet: Mat Walerian/Matthew Shipp/William Parker/ Hamid Drake

Put aside the bleakness of this double album’s title because this music embodies the idea that things can get better. Not that there was anything wrong with Polish woodwinds player Mat Walerian’s previous recordings, which have all involved some combination of the musicians on this one. But Walerian has never sounded so strong on his various instruments (alto saxophone, bass and soprano clarinets, flute); so clear on how to get the most out of Matthew Shipp, William Parker and Hamid Drake; or so engaged with jazz, and not just the free jazz that he’s made with these gentlemen to date. By turns subdued, impassioned and bathed in all the shades of the blues, Walerian no longer sounds like a guy who has great taste in sidemen who happen to have played with some of the greats of our time, but a guy who sounds like he belongs in their company. Each lengthy track (they range from 11 to 18 minutes long) imparts a narrative feel without dispelling the mystery that makes you want to hear them again. Here’s hoping that when things start moving again, this band finds a way to move around the world and move us in person. 

Bill Meyer

Om — It’s About Time (Intakt) 

It’s About Time by OM - Urs Leimgruber, Christy Doran, Bobby Burri, Fredy Studer

To a fan, It’s About Time might sum up the feeling upon learning that the Swiss quartet Om finally recorded a new studio album 40 years after its predecessor, Cerberus (ECM). It also captures the existential question facing a quartet of improvisers, some of whose paths have often crossed during that time, but some of whom have taken very different roads. On the one hand, drummer Fredy Studer and guitarist Christy Doran play in a Jim Hendrix cover band with Jamaladeen Tacuma; on the other, soprano saxophonist Urs Leimgruber works mainly in freely improvised settings with the likes of Alvin Curran and Joelle Leandre these days. Burri seems to be the guy who has maintained connections with everybody. How to make sense of such a history without denying anyone’s musical identity? During their first go-around, between 1972 and 1982, Om was played polyrhythmic electric jazz. During the mostly low-profile gigs they’ve played since reconvening in 2008, they’ve had time to forge an updated vocabulary that is less groove-oriented but takes full advantage of the timbral resources on hand. While it’s evident that time has passed, it’s by no means a waste of time. 

Bill Meyer

Rüstəm Quliyev — Azerbaijani Gitara (Bongo Joe)

Azerbaijani music, by and large, hasn't broken through to the American mainstream. That might not change, but the new anthology release of Rüstəm Quliyev's work, titled Azerbaijani Gitara, at least makes a case against our insularity. Quliyev's work, even for an insider, would be hard to pin down given that the overriding goal seems to be the synthesis of as many styles of music as possible. Western ears will be most comfortable with the psych-rock influences here. Quliyev also reworks Bollywood, folk, Middle Eastern dance and more on his electric guitar. Taken from recordings from 1999-2004, this nine-song collection sounds more coherent than that idea might suggest, but no less frantic. Quliyev plays with a persistent energy, his kinetic approach matched my his chops, often with a tone reminiscent of Carlos Santana (if we reach a little). On songs like “İran Təranələri,” he allows the piece to develop patiently, but these cuts rely on movement and virtuosity. Quliyev had a challenging life cut short by lung cancer, but his music finds itself unleashed through apparent joy.

Justin Cober-Lake

ShooterGang Kony — Still Kony 2 (Empire) 

A fortnight shy of his 22nd birthday (this coming Wednesday, mark your calendars and send best wishes), Sacramento rapper ShooterGang Kony has dropped his second full-length project of the year in Still Kony 2, a skit-free set of songs with a Biggie homage as the cover that explores further his emotional depths while still retaining the bouncy Bay Area nature of his livelier side. There’s stuff like “Red Ice” and “Fasholy Good,” of course, but there’s also the stretch of sobering songs later in the tracklist, including “Overdose,” “Flaggin” and the particularly affecting “Do or Die.” No matter the type of beat, though, Kony feels completely at ease with his cadence and wholly in control of his verses despite occasionally verging on a Detroit-like dismissal of the beat. Even if you can’t see the geekin’, you can certainly feel it.

Patrick Masterson

Suuns — Fiction EP (Joyful Noise)

FICTION EP by SUUNS

For better or worse, Suuns’ new Fiction EP is pretty much the sound of 2020 encapsulated, not in the sense of distilling current musical trends, but rather in succinctly conveying the disorientating feeling of living through a year that has been such a traumatic mess. Across these six tracks, the Montreal-based band creates a fuzzy, feedback-streaked, claustrophobic racket that just about coalesces into song forms around breakneck rhythm tracks. “Fiction” and “Pray” will meet the expectations of anyone expecting Suuns to continue sounding like fellow noise-rockers Clinic, but elsewhere there’s surprising variation to the band’s sound palette. Opener “Look” emerges out of the darkness like a warped apparition, concluding with a chant of what sounds like “Sheep, sheep, sheep.” They enlist the help of Jerusalem In My Heart for droning instrumental “Breathe,” and Amber Webber lends ghostly vocals to “Death.” At the EP’s end, the Mothers of Invention’s wailing blues-rock classic “Trouble Every Day” is barely recognizable, foregrounding Zappa’s lyrics and chewing them up into a garbled rush of splenetic invective. Though short, there’s something satisfyingly ghastly and cathartic about this EP that really cuts through.

Tim Clarke

Women — Rarities 2007-2010 (Flemish Eye/Jagjaguwar) 

Rarities 2007 - 2010 by Women

Some outlets rode much harder for Women than others when the band was still a dysfunctioning unit (RIP Cokemachineglow, namely), but there’s little doubt left a decade on that what the Calgary quartet had going was a volatile yet beautiful indie-rock ideal that hasn’t been duplicated in Viet Cong/Preoccupations or Cindy Lee since. These rarities, affixed to a deluxe decennial reissue of Public Strain due out in November, could all have made the final tracklistings of either of their full-lengths. The music veers between sunny ‘60s singalongs and dark guitar dissonance; I find myself thinking of The Walkmen’s first LP on “Bullfight” (a free release from 2011 in the aftermath of the band’s collapse the year before) and of The Chameleons on “Group Transport,” which is considerably more Janus-faced with its juxtaposed harmonies, for example. It took me much longer than it should have to come around on Women, but in case you’re still on the fence or also just never got around to them in the first place, perhaps this small coda will sway you in their favor once and for all.

Patrick Masterson

Yo La Tengo — Sleepless Night EP (Matador)

In July, Yo La Tengo released the abstract, droning instrumental EP We Have Amnesia Sometimes, harking back to the sound of their excellent soundtrack album The Sounds of the Sounds of Science (2002). This new Sleepless Night EP brings together five covers and one original, first released in conjunction with an L.A. exhibition by Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara, who helped the band pick the songs. Sleepless Night opens with “Blues Stay Away” by The Delmore Brothers and “Wasn’t Born to Follow” by The Byrds, both fairly straight renditions of the blues and country-rock originals. The real keeper in this collection comes next in the form of Ronnie Lane’s “Roll On Babe,” beautifully sung by Georgia, which hypnotizes with its languid sway. Their cover of Dylan’s “It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry” also has Georgia take the lead over beatless organ, bass and guitar. “Bleeding” is the sole original, a shimmering atmospheric piece with ghostly vocals from Ira, which dissolves in a pool of pitchshifted reverb. Finally, “Smile a Little Smile for Me” strips out the rhythm section from the Flying Machine original and slows the tempo, Ira’s measured vocal performance lending the song an affectingly forlorn slant. Though the material here offers few surprises, it’s a reassuring release from a justifiably loved band at a time when we could all use a little more reassurance.

Tim Clarke

[smoking-n-leather]

Das hier ist Wasser: Elektroakustische Musik von einer Schönheit, die nicht allzu easy kommt.Wasser, sagt Atsuko Hatano, kann jede Form zwar annehmen, aber keine halten ohne äußere Kräfte, die darauf einwirken. Im Grunde stimmt das auch für den Klang dieses Albums, das die japanische Bratschistin und Komponistin mit der ebenfalls in Japan geborenen, seit Langem in Berlin lebenden Komponistin und Pianistin Midori Hirano aufgenommen hat. Hatano arbeitet solo...

https://www.musikexpress.de/reviews/atsuko-hatano-midori-hirano-water-ladder/

[hatanoatsuko]

2024.10.26 Terry Riley In C 60th Anniversary Concert in Yokohama

開場：19:30　開演：20:00

会場 : BankART Station 横浜市西区みなとみらい5-1 みなとみらい線「新高島駅」 B1F

前売￥3000 / 当日￥3500

出演者： Marcos Fernandes - marimba 波多野敦子 / Atsuko Hatano - viola 林あけみ / Akemi Hayashi - piano 本田ヨシ子 / Yoshiko Honda - voice 今西紅雪 / Kohsetsu Imanishi - koto 石川寧 / Yasushi Ishikawa - trumpet 岩崎佐和 / Sawa Iwasaki - trombone 小林豊美 / Toyomi Kobayashi - flute 小森慶子 / Keiko Komori - clarinet 金剛督 / Susumu Congo - sax 小滝みつる / Mitsuru Kotaki - synth コヤマナオコ / Naoko Koyama - harmonium Chu Makino - voice 松下尚暉 / Naoki Matsushita - shakuhaci 中西文彦 / Fumihiko Nakanishi - guitar 大澤イツト / Itsuto Osawa - Mongolian bass 塩野えりさ / Erisa Shiono - violin Keikin Shu - mandola 鈴木美紀子 / Mikiko Suzuki - guitar 田中悠美子 / Yumiko Tanaka - shamisen tomoca - oboe 山田あずさ / Azusa Yamada - marimba ほか

前売りはこちらから https://bankart1929-in-c.square.site/

主催：Accretions 協力：BankART1929

問い合わせ info@bankart1929.com 045-663-2812

#schedule

[kazuyakato]

mama!milkさんのアルバムの最新作がリリースされました。 僕も一曲参加しています。 改めて、とっても大きな思い出のある演奏となりました☻

・・・

mama!milk NEW ALBUM [ Charade ]

本日リリースされました。 秋の夜長に、ゆったりとお楽しみください。

11/3には、2枚組LPレコードもリリースされます。 そちらも、どうぞお楽しみに。

2021年10月6日発売 MUSICA MOSCHTA [MMC2110] CD 全25曲／73分⁡

・・・・・・・・・・・・・

⁡ 〜洗練の極地をいく濃密なアンサンブルが誘う、 甘美で幻想的なサウンドトリップ〜

アコーディオン、コントラバス、ピアノ、フルート、二胡、マリンバ、声、テルミン、ヴィオラ、チェロ、フリューゲルホルン、テナーサックス 、カヴァキーニョ等々、多彩な楽器で繰り���げられる珠玉の25曲。 近年、世界の文化・宗教がなだらかに連なる境界上の街への旅や、各地の記憶を内包した場でのサイトスペシフィックな演奏会を重ねながら、多彩な演奏家・美術家と共に未知なるアンサンブルを探求してきた mama!milk。 実験性を孕むほどに、しなやかな官能性を帯びていく、新しいことが始まる予感に満ちた2021年作。 ⁡ ・・・・・・・・・・・・・ [ 収録楽曲 ] [ I ] 1. Charade 2. Kairos Waltz 3. Tango al Fine, Alcazar 4. Moment to Moment 5. Ephemera 6. Kairos Waltz, Deja vu ⁡ [ II ] 7. Amber 8. Peonia ( * * ) 9. Charade, Wings 10. Azul ( * ) 11. Your Tears ⁡ [ III ] 12. Camellia 13. Tango al Fine 14. A Phosphorescence 15. Sotto Voce 16. Reverie 17. Your Slumbers 18. Charade, Blessing ⁡ [ IV ] 19. Veludo, Moonlit 20. Tango al Fine, Sombra 21. Charade, Praying 22. Sanctuary 23. Kairos Waltz, Jamais vu 24. Veludo 25. Your Voice, Reminiscence ⁡ produced by mama!milk all compositions written by Yuko Ikoma except by ( * ) Kosuke Shimizu, ( * * ) Keiko Sugihara & Yuko Ikoma ⁡ ・・・・・・・・・・・・・ ⁡ [ 演奏 ] ⁡ mama!milk 生駒祐子 Yuko Ikoma, accordion etc. 清水恒輔 Kosuke Shimizu, contrabass etc. ⁡ Musicians 曽我大穂 Daiho Soga, Flute, Alto flute, Harp, Cavaquinho,etc. ふじおかやすこ Yasuko Fujioka, Flute 井登友一 Yuichi Inobori, Flute 加藤和也 Kazuya Kato, Tenor saxophone 市原大資 Daisuke Ichihara, Flugelhorn, Trombone, Shaker etc. BUN Imai, Marimba, Marching drums, Percussion 小倉笑 Emi Ogura, Voice 杉原圭子 Keiko Sugihara, Erhu Gak Sato, Theremin 林正樹 Masaki Hayashi, Piano etc. 木太聡 Akira Kita, Piano etc. 波多野敦子 Atsuko Hatano, Viola, Strings 有村航平 Kohei Arimura, Cello 守屋拓之 Takuyuki Moriya, Contrabass ⁡ more info. https://www.mamamilk.net/discography/ i@musicamoschata.info