Japnese sound artist Yosuke Fujita releases MMM today, his second full-length album for the Swiss label Hallow Ground. His performances on his self-built pipe organ, which he self-built in 2009, are a visual and auditory experience (see video from Rewire 2021 below) that blend into one, taking inspiration from gagaku, an ancient art form that’s also perceived as “ultra-modern” in its style
and composition.
For his new album, he replaced a hand-operated pump for the organ with an electric air pump, which has completely changed the sound. This has allowed him to activate new sonic and compositional potentials of the instrument while also expanding upon his experiments with his voice, as can be heard on M-2, on which he uses a vocal technique inspired by the Inuit throat singing style katajjaq. By constantly exhaling and inhaling, he puts a strain on his internal organs in order to create what he calls a ‘third voice’. The resulting piece is built on a throbbing rhythmic foundation topped by wordless melodies.
For M-1 he recorded the pipes by waving a gun microphone close to it, thus creating shifting rhythmic patterns. The piece engages in a perpetual play of repetition and difference, balancing sonic intensity with compositional dramaturgy. M-3 closes the album as a synthesis of these two pieces (M-1 and M-2) but with the organ taking on a more subdued role and Fujita’s scat growling and singing reappear in processed form.
MMM is described as a masterpiece of conceptual and formal rigour—a testament to how multi-layered and versatile the music of FUJI||||||||||TA can be.
FUJI||||||||||TA Tour dates May 2024:
4｜Brooklyn, NY｜ Long Play Festival @bangonacan
7｜Los Angeles, CA｜UPEND at 2220 Arts + Archives
10｜San Francisco, CA｜The Lab
12｜Québec, QC｜Pantoum
13｜Montreal, PQ｜The Old Bank
14｜Ottawa, ON｜St Albans Church *
15｜Ottawa, ON｜St Albans Church *
*with Colin Stetson