response to Oto’s visit

 

I was quite struck by Oto’s discussion of post-techno. Before that class, I didn’t think much of the merits of electronica and certainly never drew the connection between the post-modernist movement in visual art and that of musical art. From my limited experience with electronica in the clubbing scene in high school (most of which I spent in Tokyo), I had always regarded techno/trance fans as mostly ecstasy consumers (because, to be fair, ecstasy and trance do go well). Furthermore, unlike the majority of my peers, I have always harbored a gross lack of interest in following music trends; consequently, I gave no thought to “noise music” and the art of dissonance and carelessly concluded that electronica is nothing more than, well, noise. It’s a shame that “noise music” is characterized as a high-class (and therefore expensive) thing in Japan; if the artistic merits of this genre of music were more popularized everywhere, maybe my kind of ignorance would be less common. Also, I resent the fact that electronica is not included in the Media Aesthetics curriculum. Studying this genre of music would certainly give insight to understanding “the grain of the voice”, the minimalist movement, and many other things examined in that HUM sequence. Does anyone want to write a suggestion note to the Humanities department head?

Nostalgia..

All of these posts about Nori and RubberTIT/tari&MASA make me wish that it were still the beginning of this quarter! It was awesome getting to know Nori a lot better when we were showing him around campus. I can’t believe he’s gone through so much at such a young age… To think that there is only a few years between us is crazy!

MASA’s saxophone performance during one of our class dinners was a definite highlight. I was so blown away by her playing! And then a week or so ago I went to the university’s Jazz X-Tet performance and watched them perform. They had a female trumpet player and she was great.

Overall, the Celebrating Protest Series brought in amazing speakers… And it was awesome to meet people who have done so much and are so passionate about what they have fought for and do for a living.

I really enjoyed Kiku’s presentation on techno and post-techno in class. That was truly a treat… I remember my jaw dropping the entire time because it was all so new to me.

Emi’s visit was great, too. We all remember the snail mating story, don’t we? Haha.

And, of course, Beryl & Addie. American otaku unite! That was a very fun class period as well.

Kiku’s Presentation on “oto”

On April 11th, Kiku visited us as our class speaker. He is a musician, composing Post Techno music. He calls this “oto” which is the Japanese translation for sound. Kiku taught us about this genre of music, Post techno. Basically Post Techno is a genre within Electronica. Electronica contains Post Techno, Experimental, and Techno. Post techno has snappy sounds in addition to techno, and combines experimental sound to techno. He played us many samples of this music, and it was really interesting to hear. I dont’ think I have ever consciously heard this type of music before. Kiku studied at Keio University in Japan, and he wrote his thesis on something very cool! He wrote it on CD Skipping Music. What he did was take CD’s and write on them with permanent marker. He then played these CD’s and the CD maid skipping, scratching, “Noise”. He started with Post Techno and creating music using computers and other high technology in 1998, when he met Carsten Nicolai at a Techno Culture event. After this incident Kiku was fascinated with the music.

I have never heard of Post-techno until Kiku explained it to us. It is interesting – almost a new genre of music only capable of being created in this century with all the new high technology DJ’s can use to create and mix music. It is interesting that there is such a segregation between the underground, club music, and the highly institutionalized music. One of the pictures he showed us of these “High Institutions” that play well distinguished Post-Techno music – the one that he showed in Germany, I recognized the building. My parents live in Germany and I visit once a year or so. Everytime I saw this unique buildling with bright lights and glass panes everywhere I always wondered what went on in that building. My dad had ignorantly explained it to me as a “contemporary art museum” but now I finally know that to certain groups of people in the Post-Techno music industry, that is more of a sacred place that only the best can exhibit their music. I hope the next time I walk by the building to go inside and check it out (or listen!) .

Kiku also showed a “Dumb Type” video, which was pretty intense. The white scene that Kiku commented as inspired by hospitals, was really weird. If I was watching the performance live in the dark theatre I would definitely be a bit creeped out.

Kiku is also active in STOP!Rokkashomura campaign. Rokkashomura is a village in Japan that is having to fight for their rights against a nuclear recycling plant that was built there. There is much political debate on whether to keep the plant or to stop it because of the amount of money and jobs Nihon Gennen brought into the village due to their recycling plant. I have reviewed Rokkashomura in another entry so please look for it!

I really enjoyed Kiku’s visit, and wish him luck in his new endeavors with rock and roll music!

-Miho

The “oto” of music.

I profiled Kiku Hibino, aka. Oto, for the Chicago Weekly for the week of May 20-26.
If you are interested in more information on Kiku or just want to know what he’s up to, pick up a copy!

Oto – thoughts

Kiku’s presentation, coming from the biased perspective of an unabashed music aficionado, was most excellent. The world of post-techno is a new realm to me, so of course being presented with information on it is like being a kid in a candy shop. Although the word “techno” has negative connotations (IMO) here in the U.S. – perhaps post-electronica would be more appropriate here, as “techno” in Japan seems to equate to “electronica” over here – it’s clear that most of the post-techno stuff is anything but thoughtless dance music (even the club-type stuff was more interesting than a lot of what I would consider “techno”). But not to get caught up in meaningless genre debates-

I would be interested to know where stuff like Boards of Canada, Four Tet, Adult., or Tim Hecker fit in in the world of post-techno electronica. I imagine they would be considered more “rock-tronica” stuff, but I think that kind of a broad-based term isn’t particularly just, especially considering the wide variety of artists who use sounds beyond programmed beats and glitches. It’s interesting that a lot of post-techno stuff is considered “high art,” though – I can’t imagine museums being interested in playing Adult. as “high art” (maybe for performance art or something, as background music…)

And just to throw it out there, the dumb type stuff is really freakin’ sweet.

dumb type on youtube

Found some “dumb type” vids, that Kiku introduced in class, on youtube.

dumb type-memorandum (Chapter 2-1)

The rest..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZ5uGjjAvNI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbSXbK-EpYY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35s5IobfwRQ

music-related links

Wow, thanks to the music presentation group, this blog is becoming a great resource site on popular culture!

I will add some links.

Oto

Stop Rokkasho

(From “Hear” category, you can download “Before Then” by Norma Field and Oto. )

Ian Condry’s website (author, Hip-hop Japan) – You can see a music video by King Giddra with anti-war theme.

Japan Times on Hip-hop in Japan

youtube – Toshiko Akiyoshi “The Village” performance

Fluid and Global: Proper “World” Music

Just how important is knowing, understanding and appreciating a historical and cultural context to the realm of music? Cross culturally, I think that while it maybe helpful it is not necessary, and dwelling upon it causes the authenticity debate to rear its (ugly in my opinion) head. Nevertheless, within the context of a specific culture and then subcultures, I think that such an understanding is absolutely imperative. It is what gives music meaning and transforms into something more than spaces, lines, bars, key signatures, loops, samples and notes. It gives the music a message. Consider the use of music to further environmental causes. For me techno means club culture–more specifically those darker, more abstract folks, too artistically inclined for vocal house, not quite dark enough for deep, acid or tribal house and way to underground for trance and its massive dj followings. I would never think first to tie it with environmental activism. This is the innovation yielded by the global potential of culture. Something that started in Detroit can become an arm for change half the world around.

Also the three segments of post-techno as according to Kiku Hibino serve as an example of the global but not universal nature of music and cultural expression. The idea that techno and its various derivatives like minimal and noise could garner enough respect to be considered art museum/exhibition worthy is both incredibly awesome and unbelievable to me. I find that State Side, a general ignorance of what techno actually is and a confusion with either “dance” or trance pop commonly referred to as “euro trash” has detracted from the appreciation of electronic music as art. Were I not an avid fan of the techno (well at least various house and electro) genres and I approached the post-techno era in Japan with such an attitude I would have no understanding of its meaning in its various contexts–the opera house, museum and club. Even then, as in the case of techno and environmental activism, I do not understand it fully or comprehend the connections, meanings, representations and symbols entirely.

Thus, music can never be universal, but it can be global. The understandings, the perspectives, styles and interpretations will never be synonymous across the world because even if a french, spanish, russian, chinese and british person all speak fluent english, their english will never sound the same. But music is and will continue to have the potential of being increasingly global. It spreads like culture always has synthesizing new culture, sounds, expression like creole, cuban, afro-beat, J-pop and visual kei. And, as a dynamic art form it continues to change and evolve, escaping the static cage of category and genre. It cannot be contained, as we have seen. Somehow Detroit High School party music from the late 70s finds its way into the dark, intermittently lit, underground club in Tokyo with at least one common thread–artists who want to say something to fans who “get it.”

Kiku’s Class Visit

I thought Kiku’s work was pretty incredible. Just wanted to get that out there first…

I think what I enjoyed most about his visit was when he talked about what it was like being a young person and a college student in Japan. Kiku talked about how his grandmother, one of his great influences, was a piano teacher–and even though he wasn’t particularly talented when it came to the piano, he found other ways to make music. I never really used to think of noise as music, particularly not in the sense of Carsten Nicolai’s music. But seeing how “noise” can be used, as in “Dumb Type,” made a difference. Oto clarified a lot of issues with context that I had with post-techno music and brought to light the amount of creativity that has to go into making the smallest “bleep.” For example, before his talk, I never would have been able to properly differentiate between techno and post-techno based on their sound and feel. Additionally, the link between music and art (in terms of periods) is uncanny–I never would have thought to draw the connection.

Oto’s Master’s thesis was pretty neat, too. I never would have thought to make art on the backs of CDs just to see what it would do to the sounds–and that wasn’t even what his thesis was really about. Collage music, like collage art, is a very creative way to put together a myriad of objects and concepts until they become their own whole. It was also interesting to see how his interests and projects have expanded since then.

Did anyone else really enjoy his explanation for “why noise?” as well? The thought that people are reverting to noise music as a way to reminisce and be nostalgic about the sounds of analog music struck me as something a person from the current college generation would never say. Oto’s theory does bring to mind, though, the thought that not everything that is newer is better.

You know, our university has some pretty awesome people working for it…

- Jorie

Music, Art, Society, Authenticity

I’m having a difficult day of communicating, no question. Here goes:

What I’m trying to do is recognize that when we talk about music in the context of authenticity, institutionalization and in its role as part of popular culture in general, (at least) two primary conceptions of music are at work: music “as art” and music “as society.” Music as art is seen as an artist’s (or hegemonic productive force: producer, company, audience, etc.) expressive product; when we say, “music should be judged for its aesthetic value rather than who’s producing it; music has no nationality,” that is music as art. Music as society highlights the aspect of music that serves as the center of certain social interactions for various groups; when Ryoji Ikeda says that his music is a reflection of the audience, he seems to be extolling the primacy of social consumption of music and the secondary nature of its “material” content.