Fashionable Lectures

Transcription

Yes, exactly. I played this for you today because what you believe to be electronics, is not precise. You cannot listen to all the elements of electronics. To be able to listen to them all, you have to train your ears. We have to know where overtones go, or where sound wants to travel to. What I mean by that is sound would never want to sit still, in my own idea. I moved my hands like this. Because I feel sound wants to move to various directions freely. I should not dominate the natural sound if possible. [To the simultaneous translator] Your voice is interrupted. I think the microphone of the translator is not working properly. [To the simultaneous translator] I can hear now, but sometimes it is interrupted. It is fine now. Sound is made when it is emitted in the air. If you think you can hear it on computers, you are just brainwashed to believe so. Sound needs to be exposed to the air -- to be experienced or to be embodied. Otherwise you can't find out where sound itself wants to travel to. I believe each sound has its own will. And I only want to help it just a little bit. This is why I play like this. Indeed. This instrument itself is very unique. Even if I mute it to a certain extent, the sound differs... Well, it is hard to explain. When I hit a tone, or a disc, but depending on where you hit, Baion, which is translated to overtones or maybe harmonics, would sound differently with this instrument. It creates different overtones. So even if I mute one tone, only one overtone is muted. But you can't mute the rest of other overtones it creates. So when the two or three overtones are mixed, they swell, so to speak. One is guitar. So-called guitars and some string instruments like lute and oud. Of the lutes, I play Renaissance lute and Baroque lute and orpharion. There are just too many to pick up... If you had told me a week ago, I could have brought the list. It is hard to pick them up without preparation. Hurdy-gurdy, cymbal. There are several types of cymbals. For example waterphone, a kind of experimental musical instrument. A special metal made by NASA is used to make energy chimes. Now I remember how things are put in my room. Next to it, there is chakhe from Thailand. It is similar to Japanese koto. I have already picked up ten or so. Um... electric tambour, Shruti box. I have both electric and acoustic. And many more. If I can count flutes and pipes too, I have about 20 of them. For instance, launeddas from Sardinia, Italy. I put three reed pipes in my mouth to play them at the same time. The sound is a bit similar to a bagpipe. Then Slovakian... should I go on? Slovakian fujara, maybe the longest flute in the world. It is about 1.8 meter. Should I go further? Yes, it is. Learning is not an option. It will never be. How I meet instruments is, I find musical instrument stores when I travel around. I wonder how I play the instruments in the window. Then I approach the shops and ask the instruments, "Are you gonna come to my home?" If they say yes, I buy them. My guarantee is all gone like this. No, I simply find such instruments. So sometimes I struggle with such instruments to find out how to play them for a while. By blowing, drumming, or playing. I gradually hear their sound. I really enjoy such moments. I just want to enjoy that. If I try to learn how to play instruments, I cannot fully express what the instruments want me to do and maximize their possibilities. For instance, how I played this instrument, like this. The way I play could be how they originally wanted us to play. But when it is played by learned players, for example someone who plays the vibes would just hit it like this. They play this just to sound musical scales, and say rhythm can also make melody. They would treat this instrument like that. I want to maximize this instrument's original sound. In other words, there is no wrong tone to be played. If you go to a drum lesson, for example, then you would be taught to hit a very precise spot to get the very best of it. "Everything else is a wrong tone." I hate being taught like that. I believe that a professional should be able to incorporate even bad hit sounds. If you can pick those bad hit sounds and let them be a part of your music, I think instruments themselves will be happy. Do you mean the instrument itself? In most languages, they are called instruments, namely tools, as we use them to do something. But if players regard instruments as a part of ourselves, they would sound the way even the instruments never expected. To me, both loud sound and quiet sound, always exist within myself. The band name Fushitsusha, accidentally appeared on the flyer at that event but... I dared to make even louder, harder and faster music. After making the loud sounds, I made quiet sounds with the hurdy-gurdy. But to me these different sides are just a strong point and a weak point in the dynamic range. Therefore what I need for music, for me, is every aspect of the dynamic range. So that was just an example. Not at all. I enjoy it. If I explain this in other words, having listeners gives me strength, in a sense. It gives me strength in a positive way. It does not matter whether the sound is loud or quiet. Sometimes PA system or amplifiers can change from a loud sound to a quiet sound. But both quiet and loud sounds are always together in my case. What I do in Fushitsusha, especially in recent works, is play loud music and quiet music by turns. There are all sorts of dynamic ranges, as I said. But we are trying to show the paradox at the same time. So, on that day, you listened to them separately. Yes. It is a kind of a repetition, but strength is simple, whether there is strength or not. Then it will be up to listeners. It depends on the listener's situation, environment and mental state. When you listen to music through headphones, you may feel loud. But when you remove it and put it on a table, the sound will be so quiet that you can barely hear. Therefore it depends on how listeners would catch or accept the sound after all. Whether it is loud or quiet... I mean, loud and quiet have such a relationship. That is my idea. Improvisation, right? When I played at Super Deluxe, I had an interview. I also told the interviewer this. When the word "improvise" was imported in Japan, it was misunderstood for some reason. Maybe that happened because of the impression of the word, or how cool it sounded at that time. It fell into something fashionable for eggheads. From two or three years ago, I started using my own word for that. I translated improvise to "nazoranai" meaning "not repeating." I defined the word so. When I thought about how the word originated, and tried understanding the true nature, I concluded that it is an action by someone who loves music too much. So when non-music lovers use the word "improvisation," musicians in other genres would feel the same as I feel. I have been serious about the word. Starting about 20 years ago, I quit interviews, whenever the interviewers used the words "noise," "improvise" or "avant-garde." Because they misunderstand the definition. So now you know how I feel about the word improvise. I deal with the word that seriously. Of course, yes. I want to live each and every moment at its best and to the fullest. And I think that to regret is to repeat. When we literally get positive, we live every moment seriously, very acceleratedly, concentratedly and relaxedly. So if we repeat, that is just... We can get faster forever... let me restate. That is stopping the coolest part of human by ourselves, where we can get faster forever. Excuse me. "Fall into a trap"? I never use such a word. Yes, that is correct. Excuse me, but let me ask the audience. Are you having fun? Because my personal story could be boring. Are you okay with it? Let me drink water. Thank you. It is a good idea to take a break. You may laugh, but everything I do would automatically become my style. There aren't any wrong notes struck. It's up to you. Music is an illusion. When I DJ, I close my eyes for almost the entire time and pick a CD or CD-R, let's say, and then put that in to play. Then I pick another one. I usually use four CDJs. But I'm a little different from others. I use two rhythm machines. We call music with no beat "drone music." But it also repeats sounds at least once throughout the 78 minutes. So, I beat out a rhythm, or I connect some sound sources. Almost all. Sometimes I feel like, "I blew it." But I don't want to call it an accident. I want to call it a new music. I believe it as a challenge to overcome. That's right. I burn my CD to CD-R. Because... I hold it in my mouth and throw. I don't want to end up crying. So I usually burn them onto CD-R discs. I have 500 of them now. I wasn't being clear. All of them are my CD collection. Sorry. Don't get me wrong. Exactly. I mean I don't want to scratch my records and CDs. That's why I use CD-R. [To the simultaneous translator] I couldn't hear what you said. Yes, I went to Poland and bought a CD. If I go on a trip, I always buy many CDs. I came back from a trip, and I have a favorite musician. If you ask me the reason why you like him, is there anyone who came from Poland? I think this person is... I learned about him for the very first time there. I think that sounds typical. The Polish government declared martial law in 1981. People avoided radical behavior. Because the government clamped down on dissenting voices. But he continued to fight and created sounds. I think this is his home recording. I think so. I only listened three of eight CDs. I had performed a live concert after coming Japan. I think it's a protest song but don't know about the lyrics. Well, let see... I shouldn't say irresponsible things. But it's a typical protest song. "I don't want to be a cog in the wheel." That's my understanding. As I said, I listened to three CDs. And I can't get enough of this music. Not boring as music. From his music, I think he is a progressive and aggressive. I think he wasn't interested in political issues. He's interested in making his original music. I've never listened to such folk songs before. That's why I listened to his CDs. I can't get him out of my mind. What I consider important when I listen to music are -- something that reaches to my heart or something I can accept in my heart is -- foremost radical and aggressive sounds generally avant-garde music. But you shouldn't be confused, because some music may strike you as -- neatly composed piece but still manages to sound fresh to me. These are the things I listen for when listen to new music. Big sounds are a part of such music. What do you mean? As a matter of fact, That title is "INORI." Here is a little secret to reveal. You saw three strange characters. They are one of the characters used in ancient Japan. It was largely forgotten by Japanese people. Three characters represent "INORI," it means pray. That's how it works. Black Smoker Records presented my live performances. "Experimental Mixture" features my live performances, and didn't edit the sounds. As I said, I didn't do anything at my home. All material were from my shows. Well... CD? Of course, I DJ and mix everything. I use four CDJs in my live performance. I use my live sound source. [To the simultaneous translator] I think she doesn't understand. Bad translator. You mean my new CD? It includes 21 tracks. That turned out to be the title of the CD. Total 65 minutes length. A song, roughly three minutes. I don't know, but it may be a hit. This contains various sound sources. I used over 150 CDs, let's say that's CD-R, to put 21 songs in them. I think it was around 150 to 200 discs. One of the songs contains the amount of 30 discs of data. When people listened to a new music, they will confuse what is right or wrong. It's necessary to take the next step. I'm the same for my music. About the loudness of sounds, please listen to loud and low sounds. And think about the sound and music. If you think like that, you probably wouldn't get bored. Yes, that's right. It's a joint live performance. It doesn't mean play together. When I saw the organizer, Nobu was also there. Not a collaboration. I'm very simple. Hardy? Hardy Soul? Hardy Soul requires my best condition. It shortens my life by one year. From a listener's view... I mean, I put myself in their shoes. I know my English is poor. But I sing songs in English. I'm singing song English only. In my understanding, black people nowadays don't listen to hard music so much. It might be -- because they were forced to soften their style to please white crowd. But it's the power in their music that I love. And the Black Power movement in the 1960s. I might be using discriminatory terms... But I wanted to remind everyone of that strength, and myself of my own musical root. When I was a high school student, I was a singer of a very agressive blues band. Singing agressive blues led me to form Lost Aaraaff. So blues is my root. It's simple. I just do what I find most enjoyable. Let me see. This is a serious song for Japanese people. Of course you know "Kimigayo." [The Japanese national anthem.] Please translate it. I sing this song in tenth century English. This is based on a waka poem written in the tenth century. With that in mind, I used old English. There's some sarcasm in it. It's a little bit long. If people who saw me play at Super Deluxe last weekend think of me, I'm a guitarist. But in Hardy Soul, I do nothing but sing songs. I'm singer. I think you can understand what I mean. I'm dying just to have you play this song. Around eight minutes in total. First song. It's a long-winded introduction without a song. I had a hard time. I don't know how it was in England but in Japan, there were no CDs yet. Instead, I bought LP records. In 1968, they're sold at the same price today. That is to say, they were very expensive in those days. It's all history in Japan. In the 1950s, LP records had already cost 2000 yen. They cost a fortune. In my early teens, I could only buy 7-inch singles. I couldn't get much pocket money. I think it's the same story in England. I listened to some radio programs at morning and at night. Open reel record? I'm sorry. I forgot the name. Anyway, I recorded the radio into my tape recorder. I listened to music. I was in a worse situation. I began to listening rock music at age 12. My generation was the baby boom generation. There were many classmates. About 45 students in a class. My school had ten classes in each grade. I think, in each grade, less than five students listened to rock. Listening to anything except Japanese music made you the odd one out in the school. And my hometown was never a megalopolis like Tokyo. It's the suburbs, a little far from Tokyo. I couldn't get any information there. So I had to search proactively for cutting-edge music. When I wanted to go record shopping back in these days, I always went all the way to Shibuya. I won't tell you guys the music store's name. You mentioned Shinjuku earlier, Emma. Maybe it's because you want to know about hippie or futen, Japanese hippies in Shinjuku. But I'm afraid I can't satisfy your curiosity in some ways. Maybe this is not the expected answer. I wasn't interested in their cultural scene or organisations. Or be involved in peace activities. I don't mean to sound negative, but I love music because it's an individual activity. Actually, even when I was a high school student, I didn't try to belong to any particular group. I was just rebellious against things I found unreasonable at my school. It was toward the end of student activism era back then. So, sometimes I was asked by these students to -- join their assembly. But I was completely uninterested in student activism. And also, it was the era of the so-called hippie. To me, their festival just seemed to be dubious. I was uninterested in them as well. You might think I'm playing cool, but I concentrate on music production. I was at home. House and space. There is no word "boundary" in my dictionary. Literally, I just have been doing... what I want to do. I sometimes wonder what is human nature actually. And of course, what is my true identity? I have been seeking these things continuously since always. If you get bored with yourself, your career is over. I guess that's why I have been doing what I love. I want to go beyond humans. Most of us remain just humans and end our lives. What does going beyond humans mean? When I end my life eventually, I mean when I die, I don't want to regret anything. And even at the moment of my death, I want to say I can do more, then pass away. Don't ask me complicated questions. Excuse me, the translator is breaking up again. You still haven't done what you really want to do. Be conscious of this feeling. Maybe it's the only way. For all I know, if you are satisfied... with what you do, you will never progress anymore. So, always be insatiate. I personally have never been satisfied... with what I have done. Nothing was perfect. I always say "more, more, more, most, most, most." Hi. Thank you for coming. [To the simultaneous translator] I couldn't hear the first part. Please repeat it. First, for me, every sound or every music composed by others, I mean the sound I have never listened. Or the unfamiliar-shaped instrument. Sometimes I'm surprised, "Is this really an instrument?" But I freely feel, "This must be made for me." This instrument is for me, too. It doesn't mean the feeling. Rather than feeling... To see whether it's an amazing instrument, I must see whether I have good chemistry with it. So I have to play it to see its true value. I was strongly interested in an instrument recently. I tried it actually, and it was amazing. It's a hurdy gurdy. Hurdy gurdy. Yes. The translator needs improvement. In my case, I usually practice meditation. Well... I'm sorry I have to tell this but probably, the translator isn't translating accurately, I guess. Could you explain it more clearly? I don't see any images. I'm glad you're laughing. I hope it's convincing to you. Not that I empty my mind when I play the hurdy gurdy. I can be everything. I can be everything while I'm playing. So, I always don't see particular images. I'm space. Yeah. Thank you. Because there are a huge number of CDs around me. I have an illusion that I can play five CDs at once, so I hold one in my mouth. I might look silly. If I have ten CDJs, I can try harder. Yeah, right. It's not some performance. I have only two hands, so I have to hold the third CD in my mouth. I don't bite it, actually I hold it. After a tune, I want to put on the next CD immediately. No, I have never done it. It's too uncomfortable to bite. This sounds like a joke, outside Japan, people sometimes say I have CDs as my daily meal. Was it clearly understood? It means I listen to them. I don't actually eat them. Let's say, after I play my live show, I burn out all my fuel. Then I buy a new CD I have never listened to to take on my fuel. It's like a refill. That's right. Sorry, I have never heard about the guy. I'll find his CD soon and listen later. Anyway, about every genre of music, about every genre of art, it comes down to this point. Do you seriously produce your own music? Or do you just want to show it off? Please realize these differences. It fits in every genre. I guess it's beneficial to you in a lot of ways. It will bring a good influence on your own musical works. Your works will have a good deal of creativity. I have rarely listened to dance music in my life. But even about dance music, if the composer seriously produces his own music, I'll find some common ground with dance music. Frankly speaking, that about sums it up. Thank you. Any other questions? Let me give you an example -- When I do musical activity as a band, there are several bandmates with me. Then I have to communicate my idea to my bandmates. What I'm about to say consists two different topics. That in my view, those who are referred to as composers... can't compose a piece of music on the spot. That's why they were named as composers. For all I know, playing melody in general terms, or making a riff means -- you occasionally use one note which is so intricate and sensitive... to compose a phrase. In that phrase, the combination of six sounds that you've put together, among these six sounds, to put it plainly, eight-beat, four-beat and sixteen-beat, simultaneously -- be in one riff all at once. If you compose such a riff, because they can be played in different speed, even if you don't play the sounds at the same timing, it could exists as a block of sounds, and prolongs or shortens little by little every time. Something like that could be presented as my work. As he said in the beginning, I like your expression, it was an interesting choice of words, When I say I don't repeat myself, I genuinely don't want to do it exactly. For instance, the staff brought me here from my house by car today. If I come here by myself, I have to walk to the station. I have to get on a train. And I walk to here. It is also repeating myself if I be conscious. Depending on how I look at it, I suppose it will be one of my habits. But this is an important point. If you acquire a habit -- make sure that it has a positive impact on you. So, let's get back to music. The riff you composed, or the riff that came in form from you, Just imagine your bandmates say, "It's a great riff." And when you have something similar to it in terms of notation, or in terms of rhythm interpretation, Either way, as long as you're disciplined not to repeat yourself, I think you can live in a world that's free from the concept of time. Have I made myself clear? This is... This is a very delicate question. So I'm going to be cautious with my answer. Speaking of traditional things, every country must have some traditional things. It depends on your way of listening. There are two types. Some people happen to hear music without any consciousness. And other people listen to music with renewed consciousness. I don't know if English has a counterpart of Onkochishin. It's Japanese. It means, carrying knowledge into new fields. Does English have the same proverb, too? The translator? Could you tell me if English has it? Please tell me now, on my earphones. Does English have it too? All right. When viewed from this point, any music you feel new is actually new. And now, I have something that makes me a little nervous. Since a certain time in history, Japanese started to visit many countries. Japan has developed dramatically. I mean rapidly. People say "As a result of rapid economic growth," "the distortion in the economy gave rise to noise music." But I'm dissatisfied with it. I really dislike that people call my style "noise music." It doesn't matter whether it's in the Eastern or Western world. Race doesn't matter either in all senses. It means people all over the world can be friends. I believe it. I say it proudly. Not society, individuals should change. Humans can do many more things if they try. Humans haven't reached the limit at all. If people change their consciousness like this, the world will be more exciting. Thank you. Thank you.