Friday 28 January 2011

Recording under the snow and the musical tower

RECORDING UNDER THE SNOW MOUNDS
SAPPORO, HOKKAIDO, NORTH JAPAN

Yumichan who I met in October when we played together in Sapporo came and joined in with the kitchen percussion recording for the song about making onigiri



Re-arranging Hedgehog (usually on piano) for organ and clarinet





This is Richard who`s studio I recorded in last week for 6 days. He was very nice to work with, attentive and patient, always choosing the best microphone for the job, and his microphone collection was pretty phenomenal. The most exciting microphone used in the 6 days was a telephone microphone, which was made of copper with a circle of holes in the end, and if I had a mantlepiece I`d want to put it there so I could look at it everyday!






THE BRIGHT WHITE DAYS ABOVE


when i popped up to see the day I had to squint into the bright sun shining off the snow.
When I walked past the park I witnessed what happens to all the excess snow. The army (who aren`t leagally allowed to fight) dump it in the park and errect scaffolding around it. Then they carve it into life size 4 storey famous building for a snow festival in February. I saw a middle-eastern style dome poking out from the scaffolding and grinned to think that it had been carved by the hands of a soldier!


Sapporo from Yagiya where I stayed in the hills for 3 nights


Tsulala

morning walk in snow shoes





THE MUSICAL TOWER

Here are photos of mine and Eiichi`s fairly last minute exhibition in Seant, Nagoya. While I was underground recording in Sapporo, Eiichi was searching through Nagoya`s junk shops so that when I returned I was greeted by his musical tower. To stand beneath it is to have music raining down from the horn on the top. Needless to say it`s our music that comes out, compiled by Eiichi the curator....




When Eiichi used to work as a shoe repairer, every day he took the off cuts of rubber and made these rubber people. In this exhibition there are just some of the 150 that he made over 5 years.









Wednesday 5 January 2011

MAY YOUR 2011 BE FULL OF KINGFISHERS

Japanese Christmas and New Year is pretty different to what I`ve known every previous year. Here`s a diary of my last 3 weeks including some food I`ve eaten, some music I`ve drawn, some old friends I`ve seen, Shinto Jinjas and Buddhist temples, museums and mountains, new shoes and a new years eve scratching cat

TOKYO

Rie of Small Color`s delicious traditional breakfast called teishokku


Small Color and their audience, Tokyo


The E-Jimas who looked after me so well when I lived with them for my first year in Japan
Naoki, Miwako, Leon and Tone



HAMAMATSU INSTRUMENT MUSEUM

a lot of beautiful banjos from around the world


a serpent from the UK


CHRISTMAS IN KYOTO

a Shinto Jinja up a small mountain


Oden (tasty steamed things) designed into a face by Daichan of cafe Yugue


Ichi and Suchan drawing


me and Mukuchan drawing


A happy belly at cafe Yugue, `gochaso sama deshita`!



a Buddhist temple made from stacking wood so presisely that no hammer, nails, glue etc. is needed....just wood!



my christmas shoes from Ichi fresh from the wrapping


a shoe and Ichi, playing in Osaka on Chritmas day




OOSAKA MINZOKU HAKUBUSTUKAN MUSEUM
world cultural museum

Ichi and an incredible sculpture by Taro Okamoto's "Taiyou no tou". It felt like the biggest thing I had ever seen made by a man. You can see it from miles away, like the angel of the north in England. When we were up close it made my knees bend and my stomach do little somersaults


A bad photo of a lady ploughing a rice field.
Later I want to make a whole blog about rice as I enjoy it everyday and it`s such an important part of Japanese culture

textiles from a remote part of northern China


textiles from Indonesia




BACK IN NAGOYA

a poster for our Triangle tour with Rozi Plain in February.
The poster and tour title was inspired by the pevious textiles and my new shoes



NEW YEARS EVE

during the day we walked to Tsurumai Koen, a park in Nagoya, and we spotted a kingfisher which felt like a rare treat amidst the metropolis of Nagoya. Ichi told me that to see a Kingfisher means you`ll have a good year.


A scratching cat.
Previously we had been out at a hidden talent party, where I performed a rap of Japanese tongue twisters while Ichi did breakdancing and scratching. The hardest part was not to laugh as part of our outfits were matching shorts and Ichi chose to wear his very high up his waist.


WALKING UP MOUNTAINS ON 1.1.11





Akemashite omedeto gozaimasu!
Happy new year!

May your 2011 be full of kingfishers
x x x