July 27, 2009
News | New Yoshihide Otomo Documentary |
For a certain sort of someone, a documentary on Japanese composer-musician Yoshihide Otomo--especially one that features the likes of Yasunao Tone, Yamataka Eye, John Zorn, Christian Marclay, Tatsuya Yoshida, Jim O’Rourke, and Keiji Haino--should be heaven on earth.
Franck Stofer, co-owner the always-interesting Sonore label would seem to be just that sort of someone. Thus, the disappointment evident in his review of Chikara Iwai's new Kikoe is not a good sign concerning this feature-length film. Judging from the review and the trailer below, Iwai takes a quick-cut, pastiche approach that favors sensibility over sense. When it comes to what are, to most, relatively obscure subjects such as noise and electro-acoustic improv, a more linear approach would probably be more edifying.
But then again, those of us who are into this sort of thing will probably watch it no matter what.
(Via the new Sonore blog.)
July 23, 2009
Mic check, 1-2... For those of you who keep old, dusty feeds in their news readers, hello! Here I am, a blast from the past ready to get this Far East Audio thing rolling again. Fatherhood and grad school had me put the site on hold for quite some time, but as I prepare for a three-week trip to China in August, it's time to see if this ancient version of Movable Type can still pump bloggage.
So, if you've got the feed, stay tuned. If you're visiting by chance, subscribe or check back throughout August, as I'll be visiting the venues, record shops, and junk markets of Shanghai and Beijing. Look for some interviews with Chinese and Laowai musicians as well.
And if you've got any tips or requests for stories, let me know. I'm at your service.
Mack