FOCUS

Travels, anecdotes, processes, meetings and other stories...

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This first FOCUS aims a music I composed for the performance FOX GOKKO in Osaka, Japan in 2017

LISTENING 1 - Fox Gokko Introduction

Fumiko Hayashi, Koto, Osaka 2017
Fumiko Hayashi, Koto, Osaka 2017

The idea was to create a show for the reopening of a cabaret in Osaka, an incredible establishment forgotten since the second world war! This building full of history is located in the center of the city.

The director of the KIO Theater, Kohey Nagasashi, wrote this show and invited me to compose the music.

Jerome, Koto, Osaka 2017
Jerome, Koto, Osaka 2017

Although renovated, the walls of this cabaret still transpire with sulphurous stories, sex, alcohol, gambling and whispering memories of the 40s.

To create this music, which will become the main theme of the show, I had the chance to meet a Japanese musician, Fumiko Hayashi, who plays the traditional Koto.

 

Together, we spent an afternoon in her rehearsal room with her beautiful  instrument which she kindly allowed me to touch and explore.

Before proceeding with the planned recordings, I was able to test a host of different techniques (rubbing, sliding, slapping, etc.) and, thanks to all this experimentation I discovered some new sounds with the Koto that I had not imagined at all before.

This allowed me to refine and even modify my scores and the samples I wanted to record. Fumiko then gave me the pleasure to play some parts necessary for my composition. A very beautiful moment of music and cultural exchange.


This second FOCUS and track also comes from the Fox Gokko show:

LISTENING 2 - Sexy Dance of the Cherry Blossom

Temple of the Fox / Gokko - Osaka, Japan
Its first part is based on a Japanese ancestral chant that I recorded with two monks at the Fox Temple, in the suburbs of Osaka.

During this ceremonial introduction, the actors, masked as foxes, moved around the stage in the manner and with the fluidity of the Noh Theatre.


Then comes a second "modern" part.
A break in total contrast. This one accompanies the acrobatics and the energetic and sensual dances of the fox deities on stage.

These deities hold a special place in the hearts of Japanese people. If some are good, others can be very dangerous.

Foxes symbolize intelligence, adaptability but also opportunism, cunning, strategy and an extreme capacity for violence. Sometimes they give gifts to humans (love, wealth or glory) but when these deities clash with each other, the unfortunate humans in presence can then lose everything and become collateral victims of these terrible fights.

Come back here from time to time, new focuses will follow! Your feedback is welcome.

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I wish you a pleasant listening !