Open Reel Ensemble

Ensemble with Reel-to-reel Tape Decks

姿を消したカセットテープの前のオープンリール式テープ録音機。しかしまだまだ使い道 があると感じました。そこでUSBポートを装着、通常とは異なる動作もできるように改 造し、”楽器”とし て演奏します。音源を再生、或は”その場で録音した人の声や音”をスクラッチしたり加 工したりしながら、音を奏でます。

The “Open Reel Ensemble” plasticizes voice and instrument recordings by way of USB controlled reel-to-reel tape machines. Also you can handle it via iPhone, number key and of course tape deck itself.
In February, The “Open Reel Ensemble” was exhibited in students booth of 12th Japan Media Arts Festival in Tokyo. We had some gigs there.

web site

http://crabfeet.blogspot.com/

en one tokyo presents『splithead』

展覧会名：en one tokyo presents『splithead』

作家：SHOHEI TAKASAKI （http://www.shoheitakasaki.net/）

会期：2009年9月12日（土）〜 9月18日（金）

会場：PLSMIS（http://www.plsmis.com ）

営業時間：11時〜19時

入場料：無料 オープニングレセプション：9/12（土） 19:00 - 22:00

トークショー：9/18（金）時間未定「SHOHEI TAKASAKI × 針谷建二郎 (ANSWR.INC) × 西本将悠希 (en one tokyo)」

クロージングパーティー：9/18（金） 19:00 - 22:00

a traditional musical instrument and Songs of Okinawa

The sanshin (三線, literally meaning “Three strings”) is an Okinawan musical instrument and precursor of the Japanese shamisen. Often likened to a banjo, it consists of a snakeskin-covered body, neck and three strings.

Its close resemblance in both appearance and name to the Chinese sanxian suggests its Chinese origins, the old Ryūkyū Kingdom (pre-Japanese Okinawa) having very close ties with China. In the 16th century, the sanshin reached the Japanese trading port at Sakai in Osaka, Japan. In mainland Japan, it evolved into the larger shamisen.

The Okinawan names for the strings are (from thick to thin) uujiru (男絃, “male string”), nakajiru (中絃, “middle string”), and miijiru (女絃, “female string”). The strings are white, except in Amami, where they are yellow.

Traditionally, players wore a plectrum, made of a material such as the horn of the water buffalo, on the index finger. Many still do, whereas others use a guitar pick or the nail of the index finger. In Amami, long, narrow plectra of bamboo are also in use.

In mainland Japan, many people refer to the sanshin as jabisen (蛇皮線, literally “snake-skin strings”) or jamisen (蛇三線, “snake three strings”) because the body of the instrument has a snakeskin covering. A bamboo bridge raises the strings off the skin.

The Ryukyu Kingdom

“Poetry of Gods”

琉球國祭り太鼓東京支部10周年記念公演　「神々の詩」

The Ryūkyū Kingdom (Ryukyuan: 琉球國 rūchū-kuku, Japanese: 琉球王国 ryūkyū-ō-koku, traditional Chinese: 琉球國 liúqiúguó) was an independent kingdom which ruled most of the Ryukyu Islands from the 15th century to the 19th century. The Kings of Ryūkyū unified Okinawa Island and extended the kingdom to the Amami Islands in modern-day Kagoshima Prefecture, and the Sakishima Islands near Taiwan. Despite its small size, the kingdom played a central role in the maritime trade networks of medieval East and Southeast Asia.

Extra

(dir.Studio 4°C)

Ken Ishii (Japanese: ケン・イシイ) is a Japanese techno DJ and producer from Sapporo. He graduated from Hitotsubashi University. He has released work under his own name as well as under the pseudonyms: FLR, Flare, UTU, Yoga, and Rising Sun.

Strongly influenced by Detroit techno, Ken Ishii had his first release on Richie Hawtin’s label Plus 8. He composed the music for the opening ceremonies to the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. He provided a track for the 2001 video game Rez by Sega: Creation The State Of Art which is the music used in the third level of the normal game, as well as music for the game LSD. His track “Let It All Ride” has also been used in the PSP video game Lumines II.

He worked as a sound recordist in 1998 Darren Aronofsky’s movie “PI”, and other movies as well.

Studio 4°C is a Japanese animation studio founded by Koji Morimoto, Eiko Tanaka, and Yoshiharu Sato in 1986. The name comes from the temperature at which water is densest. It should not be mistaken with Studio 4C which is a common nickname given to the team of assistants of the manga artist Masakazu Katsura.

They are known for marrying the spirit of independent festival animation with a more mainstream anime aesthetic. In addition much of their output is considered superflat with some artwork from Morimoto being featured at Takashi Murakami’s exhibitions.

- Cool Japan -