Word The Cat

Akio Suzuki is a Japanese composer, artist and inventor of instruments. he’s interested in the sounds of nature, stripped down pieces of noise and their resonances in a given landscape. David Toop fetes him as “a kind of magician”. In the sleeve notes to the ‘Odds and Ends‘ double CD, Yamantaka EYƎ of the Boredoms, writes “Hearing this music I remember many things, including playing in a puddle as a tiny kid. Play makes all things one. Those who are able to play in the true sense of the word are able to live in eternity. You don’t have to pay no rent to live in the home of eternity. And how cool is that?”

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These are really amazing noises. I want to say they’re unearthly, but that’s wrong. The noises are earthly, just maybe not from what many of us think of as the earth. Simple, but richly layered resonances, delays, echos and overtones give such a strong sense of place. Here are three pieces and notes from the Odds and Ends CD featuring his invented instruments. He’s installed and performed with the instruments in galleries, sound art events etc. around the world. some info on that here.

Voice “Analapos – ‘70″

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“During the sixties I made nature my teacher. I visited different natural landmarks all over Japan, where I carried out a series of self-study events I called Searching for Echo Point. I would “throw” sounds out into nature and play with the resulting echoes. One day i came up with the idea of a machine that would create echos in a room.

According to a Japanese proverb, parents can learn much from their children. In the same way, the echo instrument I invented and named Analapos still continues to guide me.

In 1988 I held an event called Space in the Sun, the aim of which was to spend an entire day listening to the sounds of nature. I created a special space for this event in the mountains of Aminocho near Kyoto. The space consists of two parallel walls of sundried bricks which produce a unique echo similar to the famous “roaring dragon” walls at Toshogu Shrine in Nikko. I sometimes revisit this space, located right on the meridian, and am touched by how time and weathering is gradually causing it to fade into its surroundings.”

Aeolian Harp

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“At the beginning of the eighties a magazine rang me up, saying that they would like to do an article about my invented instruments. I took them to the sand dunes at Hamaoka to take some picture for the article, and it was there that I discovered that Analapos played a weird melody when the wind blew across it.

These sounds depended on the direction of the wind and on the angle at which the instrument was suspended. I was also suprised to observe that rain and sand particles acted on the coil-springs to stop the sounds.”

Ancient Hill

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“After the Space in the Sun event, I began to think about the links between hearing, living and purification. Thirteen years have now passed since I first moved here to Tango. On three occasions during that period the hill behind my house has played host to a sound festival I promote called Festivity on the Ancient Hill.

The sounds here were originally recorded as ambient music for the Ancient Village local history museum in Tango, and feature me playing some of the instruments I invented during the seventies.”

“At the death of Francis I in 1547, a meal was served to the king’s coffin, while a wax effigy (complete with moving parts) was set up in a salle d’honneur, where it was ritually fed until the king was buried.”

from Carolyn Steel – Hungry City p.223

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Keep eating. Hype Williams on _tube is unfuckwithable:

alex macpherson just published a great article on lil b, tyler the creator and sexuality in hip hop. in case you’re unaware, lil b has announced his new record will be called ‘i’m gay’. he’s not gay, but he does play with his sexuality, calling himself that pretty bitch and freestyling “niggas on my dick cos i look like a princess / bitches on my dick because i look better than them” (4:28).

a lot of this comes down to taste, but in terms of swag, lil b kills absolutely everyone. if we are going to draw an artificial comparison, tyler is technically very very strong but in an age of information, technical skill is only one piece of information. a highly prolific, chaotic, public profile is A LOT. think of wiley on Ustream… that’s a lot of information, but in these times, that chaotic information will organise itself (e.g. wiley’s strawberry jam endorsement) with a little help, or with an overarching narrative, like #BASED or #swag. all of a sudden tweeting “Ladies go suck that mans dick that works hard and is trying everyday to find himself work a job and stay positive, suck his dick – Lil B” is #BASED and the people say:

“Being based is being positive and not worrying about other peoples opinions about you. Keep hating, we’ll be here with Basedgod looking at the bigger picture, questioning the secrets of the universe on a based level. You’ll be on the computer insecure, unaware of your own flaws, dissing LiL B because you just don’t understand smh” countchunkula

this also ties together a really varied, experimental approach to producing content. whether it’s a dictionary book, mixtapes, or trying to turn himself into a god:

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the point is that in an age of manipulate-able information, you CAN turn yourself into a god. and that’s swag.

musically… there’s a lil b record of spoken word over beatless synth pad productions which is also #RARE called ‘rain in england‘. to re-emphasise, this is a long way from what is expected… and is from a record containing 67 minutes of this. you have to respect how uncompromisingly hard that is… here’s the final track:

Lil B – God Kissed Me

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samgeall links to an article on the relationship between occult practices and cyberfraud in ghanaian popular culture…

Sakawa: On Occultic Rituals and Cyberfraud in Ghanaian Popular Culture by Joseph Oduro-Frimpong [pdf]

this may sound obscure but let’s just think of occult practices as means to an end. when riki lake or oprah tells guests they must love themselves before they can love others, that is a form of re-imagining, a means toward an end which is itself a form of magic.

maybe this is a way to achieve success in the music industry, which all things being equal, is becoming a realm of hype (”collective fantasies”), and “emprically unproven relations between phenomena” which require will require “new magic for new situations”. in a world in which concepts, economies and tectonic plates are becoming increasingly unstable we no longer need a “coherent, ordered system”. in fact, ask the israeli army, who use deleuze and guattari to plan urban warfare, using means and ends alone is usually the most direct approach. this is itself an occult approach, bypassing accepted models to visualise a situation and force it into happening. ritual magic usually involves some kind of exchange. redemption/transcendence through sacrifice has been around for as long as there has been people. producers with an occult hustle should probably read the small print and make sure they’re not the ones getting crucified.

“It is in view of conceiving of occult discourses in our contemporary world as “new magic for new situations” (Comaroff and Comaroff 199: 284) that I approach sakawa narratives as ‘collective fantasies’ (Tholden van Velzen and van Wetering 2001: 18). In adopting this notion as a way of understanding these narratives, I am not suggesting that it is a coherent framework shared by all Ghanaians to explain the connection between the enactment of occultic practices and the success of cyberfraud. The concept lies allows for certain flexibility in exploring “new possibilities . . . with empirically unproven relations between phenomena . . . without the necessity of turning them into a coherent, ordered system” (Meyer 1995: 248). Within such system, collective fantasies “often employ the realm ‘realm of darkness’ in order to express and clarify existential questions” (Meyer 1995: 248). From this perspective, I demonstrate how sakawa narratives are popular in Ghana precisely because they express discontent with certain economic and social situations in the country. Such an expression, as couched in sakawa narratives, is a “retooling of culturally familiar technologies” (Comaroff and Comaroff 199: 284) of previously existing narratives involving religious beliefs and (alleged) practices that go with satanic/occultic riches (Meyer 1995).” (4-5)

the article contains analysis of the relationship between popular culture (video films) and the political elites to sakawa. i’m not ghanaian and i’m not an anthropologist so i won’t go too deep into it, but here’s the synopsis of the climax of the film Dons in Sakawa:

“At the Shrine of Calipha, Lord Bokka makes the supplicants aware that each has a “golden rule” to observe that ensures their continued success in the cyberfraud business. Although these ritual rules are not made explicit to the audience, as the film progresses, one becomes aware of them. Thus, for Mike, he had to find and be sexually intimate with a mad woman once a month. Justin had to be faithful to Stacy (his girlfriend for several years), and not have any other sexual affair. Hakeem was not supposed to use his wealth to cater for the health needs of his mother and younger female sibling.

However, all the friends flout these rules. Mike discontinues with his monthly sexual escapades with mad women, which results in his eventual madness. Justin becomes attracted to a young lady and jilts Stacy. One day while Justin and his new-found love were coming out from a fashion boutique, Stacy confronts him about his inconsiderate behavior but Justin snubs her. Stacy pulls out a gun, shoots Mike and then commits suicide. With Hakeem, although he initially refused to pay upfront, the needed funds so that the mother could be attended to, he finally gave in after reflecting on how his single-parent mother had struggled to see him through his university education. Soon after Hakeem’s mother’s was released from the hospital, Hakeem visited her at her home. On his way out, Lord Bokka appeared in the courtyard of Hakeem’s mother to demand Hakeem’s soul. A Christian pastor of the church Hakeem’s mother attends was present and the pastor decided not to allow Lord Bokka to take Hakeem’s soul. This impasse results in a spiritual fight between the representatives of Good and Evil where the latter lost and Hakeem redeems his soul.” (7-8)

TwoMoreMixesMwoToreMixesMoMoreTwixes

MoMoreTwixes! Forwards!

the first twix is one that’s been in the oven for about 6 months. you know when you cook a moussaka and you leave it in the oven for ages and the lamb goes really soft? well this mix is tender. includes adesh samaroo singing about how cat meat tastes much better than dog meat. there is also an interview with myself and and man called hanu(man). he did half the mix. don’t believe the hype – it wasn’t a battle so much as a brokered ceasefire. big up abstractor and pacheko for pulling it together.

here. hare. here.

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the second thing is a live soundscape i did last week at the red gallery in ec2. it was for hackney hear, a gps-audio-triggering-smartphone-app based in hackney. poet-saturate. i took raw recordings from the hackney podcast (an excellent spoken word/field recording project – in particular check the ‘night‘ one) and ran them through ableton and effects. most fun of the evening was probably when some kids starting working out that if they touched this or that thing it made a noise. making noises is great.

wordthecat – hackney soundscape

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while the international media get caught up in the high drama of a nuclear catastrophe, things remain very bad in the quake hit area, the extent of which is only increasing as the situation develops and relief efforts are stretched. i recently returned from living in Japan for two years. i was based in Osaka, far from the the disaster zone (the Chinese government moved their embassy from Tokyo to the consulate-general there a couple of days ago). my friends, including the ones in tokyo, remain safe. the real tragedy is happening on the ground in the north east.

i thought it might be useful to share some voices and experiences from people living in Japan. these are from my friends on facebook and the kine-japan japanese cinema list, which i’ve been subscribed to for many years. there are some interesting thoughts and observations here on how people are responding on the ground in relation to the international media coverage. i won’t paste any pictures here, but my friend alex who also lived in Japan has a picture blog here with images taken by jesse ortiz, aika ortiz and erwin ortiz who have been working in the disaster zone.

if anyone i’ve quoted here sees this and has a problem with me using their words, let me know and i’ll remove them, but i hope it’s a useful exercise. comments at the bottom, if anyone else has voices to share.

“I just wanted to say that things are really horrifying and devastating in the northern regions which are affected directly by the earthquake and tsunami, but in Tokyo things are basically fine and normal given the present impeding circumstances. Of course, one can make oneself panicked by fearing about a possible nuclear power plant disaster like Chernobyl, or another big earthquake but most Japanese are calmly watching the situation, praying for the people working hard in directly dealing with the situation, those who themselves or their families are affected by the earthquake. Many foreigners who live in Tokyo have fled from Tokyo to safer areas, which is totally understandable, but makes me feel a little distant.

It took me a week to actually take a look at this mailing list. It’s just the way it is when one is experiencing a disaster like this, and I am not even affected, unlike those who have to live in the shelters with shortage of food, heat in the snowy cold weather, fear of radiation disaster, on top of everything, let alone having instantly deprived of their homes and loved ones… All they have is nothing but debts or mortgage of a house or a tractor that no longer exists or whatever they lost. But still many of them appreciate concerns and thoughts from people all over the world.” [ayako saito, tokyo, kine-japan, 17/03/11]

“My boss is stoic beyond belief – she just re-entered the building after a few minutes and when I came back an hour later, she was just sat in front of her computer clicking away, debris all around as if nothing had happened! … Well the epicentre was Miyagi prefecture up noth I think, so my boss has dismissed it as nothing at all! I honestly though I was going to die under that table – although I feel like I have bonded with my co-worker!” [nancy roberts, tokyo, 11/03/11 day of the quake]

“As someone who has been in Tokyo since August (currently in Kyoto to have a bit of a break from the aftershocks), I can say a few things.

1. The nuclear power plant story is being ridiculously sensationalized in the American media. Article after article and expert after expert have declared that there is absolutely no danger to anyone outside the immediate vicinity of the plant, and yet the major news outlets ignore these stories and continue to vamp up the fear. Worse, they do this at the expense of reporting on the real crisis, which is the 400,000 + people in the northeast who have limited food, water, and shelter and are already dying as a result.

2. Many people have made the decision to leave–at least temporarily–for a variety of reasons. Aftershocks were constant for the first 24 hours after the quake, and they continue even now. I personally have not slept much at all for the past week–partially because of the stress of the aftershocks, and partially because I have been dealing with frantic, panicked family members who were horrified that I hadn’t fled the city. I also worried about blackouts as my only heater is electric, it’s getting very cold, and kerosene / space heaters are completely sold out. I’ve left for a few days to get some sleep and try to re-group, but I plan to return. The bottom line is that even if there is no danger from the power plant, there are plenty of other reasons why people might choose to leave. And given the changing nature of the power plant situation and the huge amount of conflicting information available, I can understand why some people would be concerned enough to leave.

3. Regarding film archives and screenings–for the most part it’s business as usual in Tokyo. The scheduled blackouts have been avoided so far because people are doing a great job of conserving energy. Some universities have postponed classes and some smaller companies have shut down to allow their employees to spend time with their families, but most places are up and running. Very few Japanese are leaving the city (the shinkansen were crowded today as I headed for Kyoto, but Monday is a national holiday, so that’s not too surprising). If regular blackouts become a necessity this will of course impact daily life considerably, but for now other than slightly reduced train service, a gasoline shortage, and shortages of items like bread, milk, and rice (really just the result of over-buying, not an actual shortage), Tokyo seems pretty normal to me. I provide informal updates about the situation on the ground and links to helpful articles at http://gradland.wordpress.com. [lindsay nelson, kine-japan, 17/03/11]

“Dear all, please do not worry about me as I am miles away from the tragic destruction that has been caused by the earthquake and tsunami. I remain perfectly safe, but completely grief stricken about the tragedy that is unfolding here. I cannot thank you enough for your love and thoughts; I’m channeling them all where they are needed most: northern Japan, we’re thinking of you.” [roxanne borowska, shiga, 12/03/11 - day after quake]

“Although as one writing from the Kyoto/Osaka part of Japan that is distant from the immediate events, it is still possible to say a few things about what is going on here. At Kansai Gaidai there are nearly 400 students from around the world that are in some turmoil as pressures to return home from often poorly informed governments, parents, and so on who are often insisting on their immediate return regardless of the comparatively low risks faced by this area. Combing the web and foreign newspapers and comparing them with Japanese it is amazing to see the Orientalizing attitudes toward Japan and people in Japan, ranging from some French commentators referring to the reactor workers as “kamikaze” to impressions that people in Japan are unifed dupes of their government’s misinformation and that governments around the world are some how so much better informed and deeply thoughtful than anything going on here in Japan. Of course, the round the clock all-channels coverage going on here within Japan contains its fair share of absurdities both from official and unofficial sources. Yet patient looking around at the newspapers, TV and net sources also provides a lot of good information and viewpoints. It is tiring/distressing to see so many major foreign news sources spouting that they have the real information only to find them even confusing which reactor is which and garbling up other aspects. This is leading to a kind of hysteria that is the opposite of what is needed. People here seem to be going about their lives calmly while trying to sort through the news and events – it is often the Westerners that are going around with glazed eyes due to their reading of foreign accounts or the reverse – exhausted from long hours of email and skype conversations trying to calm down the anxieties of friends and relatives who are convinced that only by being outside of Japan can you know the “truth” of what is going on inside.” [paul berry, kine-japan, 17/03/11]

“Sometimes, it is difficult to respond so spontaneously.

The more implicated you are in the situation in Japan, it’s difficult to translate the feelings into critical writing.
Remember how long it took for leftist Americans to be able to start writing about 9/11 without feeling like you’re risking your
posiition, or alienating the masses.

If Kine-Japan has been silent, I’d take that as a sign of just how much “implicated” people feel in the crisis.

Perhaps it is now time to use our critical faculty to start challenging the worrying trend of “ethical” totalitarianism (perhaps it is enough to mention the cruelty of turning the inhumane work condition of the Tepco workers into humanist “heroic” stories), but I’d say it is a political choice to determine the right time to launch this.

a confused thought, no doubt, but I needed to posit this anti-intellectual response.” [shota ogawa, kine-japan, 17/03/11]

“Anyway we are aiding stuff till not delivered to victim. It seems than can’t deliver for disaster area. The foods are going corruption and people are starvation because of hunger. Its impossible to help victim at disaster area really messy and nothing life line. And that have nuclear happens. Everyone confuse everything bollixing.witch way is best? Must think best way and manage… We can’t go there if will go only make more happens and nuisance . I hope aid from garments and It will be quickly and soon.” [kazumi masutani, osaka, 17/03/11]

“I hope everyone can life of ordinary early [fast].” [shoko yamada 12/3/11 - day after quake]