concrete

Installation
The Voice of Inconstant Savage
Commissioned for the Engawa – Japanese Contemporary Art Season programme organized by Calouste Gulbenkian Museum's Modern Art Center, The Voice of Inconstant Savage is an immersive installation that superimposes a prayer inspired by the story of a 16th-century Portuguese missionary, a chant from a Kakure-Kirishitan (hidden Christians) prayer – a religion rooted in Nagasaki Prefecture –, a chant from the Karawara spirits of the Awá indigenous people – who live in the Amazon rainforest – and a chorus of Western Gregorian chant. Morinaga questions the position of the aesthetics of inconstancy in relation to the discourse of the “savage” that modern society confronts.

Field recordings
Sombat Simla: Master Of Bamboo Mouth Organ
Simla is known in Thailand as one of the greatest living players of the khene, the ancient bamboo mouth organ particularly associated with Laos but found throughout East and Southeast Asia. His virtuosic and endlessly inventive renditions of traditional and popular songs have earned him the title ‘the god of khene’, and he is known for his innovative techniques and ability to mimic other instruments and non-musical sound, including, as a writer for the Bangkok Post describes, ‘the sound of a train journey, complete with traffic crossings and the call of barbecue chicken vendors’.

Field recordings
Yasuhiro Morinaga presents Field Recording Series Slamet Gundono [Surakarta, Indonesia]
Slamet Gundono [Surakarta, Indonesia]
The second edition of “Field Recording Series” by Yasuhiro Moringa has released. This edition features Jawa’s charismatic performer, Slamet Gundono. Slamet Gundono is a charismatic performer, musician, puppet shadow master. With his particular ironic sense of humor through the appreciation of traditional Indonesian culture, the unique style of his music and narration have been appreciated by local Indonesians. By his considerable influences, He received a prestigious award, Prince Clause Award in 2005. Sound designer & Music director, Yasuhiro Morinaga met with Slamet Gundono during the production of contemporary dance performance (choreography by Akiko Kitamura) in 2011. Throughout the number of discussions and communications, both Morinaga and Slamet agreed to work collaboratively in producing new recording album. With two microphones, Morinaga captured Slamet’s dynamic voice and instruments and other Indonesian local instruments such as gender or kendang etc. Because of his improvisational music style, the recording has never been replaced or re-recorded. And Morinaga decided not to edit anything during the process of post production process (certain bypass filtering and equalization during the mastering process) to enhance the real sonic environment around him and his musicians.

Cinema
Shadow and Act
Shadow and Act navigates through the remains of Chaya Jitrakorn, built in 1940, once the most prominent photo studio in Thailand and the only preferred studio of director Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram. The iflm explores the studio's seventy two year archives and its owner's personal photographs, while representing the defunct studio like the corpse of a deceased giant. The film experiments with the relationships between memory and space, and the past and future.(https://www.acc.go.kr/en/board/schedule/event/2610)

Event/Workshop
Gong Therapy
Raw and remixed field recordings of gong orchestras throughout southeast Asia. Recorded, assembled, and remixed by Yasuhiro Morinaga for Radio is a Foreign Country. Yasuhiro Morinaga is a sound artist and filmmaker living in Tokyo. After graduating Tokyo University of the Arts, Yasuhiro has carried out field recording expeditions documenting the origins of musical instruments and the soundscapes of shamanic healing rituals throughout southeast Asia (see www.the-concrete .org). PLAYLIST Ambience: (Toraja group), Rambu Solo (Funeral ceremony) from Toraja, Sulawesi Island Tau Dou / (Tau Humba group), Sumba Island Harvesting / (Tau Humba group), Sumba Island Funeral / (M’nong + Krung groups), Mondalkiri, Northeast Cambodia Ma Badong Chanting / (Toraja group), Toraja, Sulawesi Island Gong Practice by Yasuhiro Morinaga / Bali Island Manang Sirang - chanting / (Dayak Iban group) West Kalimantan, Borneo Island Cut the Bamboo, / (M’nong Prang group), Central highland of Vietnam Hail / (Ede group), Central Highlands of Vietnam Guarding Rice Seeds / (Makassar group) Makassar, Sulawesi Island Daily Routine for everyday life / (Krung group), Ratanakiri, Northeast Cambodia Hedung Dance / (Lamaholot group), Flores Island Balangbang / (Kanakanaey group), Northern Luzon Island A Month after the Death / (Bahnar group), Central Highland of Vietnam Sole Oha Ritual / (Lamaholot group), Flores Island Hsaing Waing Remixes by Yasuhiro Morinaga, Yangon, Myanmar Ambience: (Toraja group), Rambu Solo (Funeral ceremony) from Toraja, Sulawesi Island