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’.

Performing arts
To Belong
"To Belong / Suwung" is an Indonesia-Japan international collaborative project, in which the choreographer, Akiko Kitamura takes a challenging role.  This project, based on elaborative researches since 2010,  was performed in Asian countries and earned high evaluations. The latest version of "To Belong / Suwung" was premiered at the Aoyama Round Theatre in Tokyo. Artists, taking active roles in dances, music, and visual arts got together from each country to perform in this project. Dialogues among generations, contemporary dance, traditional dance, martial art, backbones of each artist, and interactions with keen bodily senses generated intensive magnetic fields. The artists successfully reached the creation of new stage world by unifying the Indonesian tradition, mystic energy, and the modern expression.

Cinema
Guilty of Romance
A grisly murder occurs in Maruyama-cho, Shibuya, Tokyo – a love hotel district – where a woman is found dead in a derelict apartment. Whilst the police investigate, the story interweaves with that of Izumi, the wife of a famous romantic novelist whose life seems just a daily repetition without romance. One day, to break away from the loveless monotony, she decides to follow her desires and accepts a job as a nude model enacting sex in front of the camera. Soon she meets with a mentor and starts selling her body to strangers, whilst at home she hides behind the facade that she is still the wife she is supposed to be.

Field recordings
Yasuhiro Morinaga presents Field Recording Series Endah Laras [Surakarta, Indonesia]
Endah Laras [Surakarta, Indonesia]
A pioneer of Japanese Sound Design, Yasuhiro Morinaga’s field recording series has just launched the first edition! This first edition is featuring one of the most astonishing Indonesian singers, Endah Laras, who has been known for Javanese traiditional art like Wayang Kuri. The recording was conduced at the open-air studio, owned by Endah’s father who was regarded as one of the maestro of Javanese Wayang Kuri. The location has rich sonic environment and enriches natural resonance. Through her astonishing voice with different music instruments, such as ukulele and guitalele and other traditional Javanese instruments like gender and Javanese sitar, The music in itself beings us the feeling of Kroncong and Folk. Although we all know that Indonesia has strong tradition in gamelan music or ritual ceremonies, this recording work should be treated as a new music of modern Indonesian sound.