Mitsuhiro Yoshimura
Encyclopedia
Mitsuhiro Yoshimura is, primarily, a Japan
ese musician
who is, as of 2008, active in the field of electroacoustic improvisation
(eai) and, in particular, the Onkyokei
(onkyo) style. He also runs the label
(h)ear rings and, since 2006, has been the editor and publisher of the free paper
Santa which he works on with Taku Sugimoto
and Toshiya Tsunoda.
feedback
which he creates using a microphone
(to pick up the noise in the room of performance), a small mixing console
(used to carry the signal and to record performances), an equalizer
(to adjust the frequencies sent to the output - the equaliser is set up prior to, and is left untouched throughout, the performance) and a set of headphones
(which project the sound back into the room - no other amplification is used).
This process of sound creation is somewhat similar to that of Toshimaru Nakamura
who uses a mixing console with its output connected to its input to create "no input" feedback. The techniques are not indistinguishable however; Yoshimura's music, unlike Nakamura's, can be altered by the noises which occur in the room in which it is performed (such an audience members moving or other musicians playing instruments etc.) because these sounds will be picked up by the microphone and alter the timbre
or pitch
of the feedback.
As a result of this, Yoshimura has the abiltiy to leave the music, if he wishes, to effectively play itself. By distancing himself from the musical process in this way (see indeterminate music and aleatoric music
) he raises questions of what can be called 'improvisation' and even, some may say, what can be called music
. This is a recurring trend in much of onkyo - particularly Sachiko M's
work with sinewaves (e.g. her playing on Filament's
album "29092000" on Sachiko's own 'Amoebic' label). Similarities can also be found with the music of composer
s like John Cage
(see 4′33″) and much process
and minimalist music
. For many fans of the style this lack of involvement adds to the music's appeal.
have been released, both involving Yoshimura as a performer, but the label extends its activities beyond record publishing. This includes organising live performances of improvised music in Tokyo
(mostly with Yoshimura, and others, performing) and publishing the "Santa journal.
disc titled "And so on" which was released in January 2007. Each of the tracks on the album were recorded by Yoshimura himself on three different dates and at three different locations. The first track, 'And,' was recorded at Loop-Line, Tokyo on July 9, 2005; the second track, "so," was recorded at Mone
, Tokyo on August 7, 2005; the third, and final, track, titled "on," was recorded at Art Space Tetra, Fukuoka
on September 22, 2006. Yoshimura mastered
the album himself and the artwork was supplied by Yuka Nimura.
The second release he has appeared on was a duo with Taku Sugimoto (who played electric fan, CD, acoustic guitar and lightsabers) which was recorded live, again by Yoshimura, at Loop-Line on July 8, 2007. The CD was released in October of the same year under the title "Not BGM and So On." As with "And so on," "Not BGM and So On" was mastered by Yoshimura and had artwork drawn by Yuka Nimura.
Yoshimura's most recent recordings are Santa with Taku Sugimoto and Toshiya Tsunoda, and Trio with Masahiko Okura (both 2008).
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
who is, as of 2008, active in the field of electroacoustic improvisation
Electroacoustic improvisation
Electroacoustic improvisation is a style of music that incorporates aspects of both electroacoustic music and free improvisation.-Origins:Live electronics has been part of the sound art world since the 1930s with the early works of John Cage...
(eai) and, in particular, the Onkyokei
Onkyokei
The Onkyo music movement or is a form of free improvisation, emerging from Japan in the late 1990s. Onkyō places much more emphasis on sound texture than on musical structure, distilling elements of techno, noise, and electronic music into a unique hybrid.The Off Site, a venue in Tokyo, is home...
(onkyo) style. He also runs the label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
(h)ear rings and, since 2006, has been the editor and publisher of the free paper
Academic journal
An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...
Santa which he works on with Taku Sugimoto
Taku Sugimoto
Taku Sugimoto is a Japanese guitarist.He initially gained attention in the late 1990s for his restrained, melodic playing, unusual in the world of free improvisation. Critic Bruce Russell describes this era of Sugimoto's music by writing: "Sugimoto is perhaps the pre-eminent stylist on the guitar .....
and Toshiya Tsunoda.
Music
Yoshimura's music makes use of auditorySound
Sound is a mechanical wave that is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.-Propagation of...
feedback
Feedback
Feedback describes the situation when output from an event or phenomenon in the past will influence an occurrence or occurrences of the same Feedback describes the situation when output from (or information about the result of) an event or phenomenon in the past will influence an occurrence or...
which he creates using a microphone
Microphone
A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...
(to pick up the noise in the room of performance), a small mixing console
Mixing console
In professional audio, a mixing console, or audio mixer, also called a sound board, mixing desk, or mixer is an electronic device for combining , routing, and changing the level, timbre and/or dynamics of audio signals. A mixer can mix analog or digital signals, depending on the type of mixer...
(used to carry the signal and to record performances), an equalizer
Equalization
Equalization, is the process of adjusting the balance between frequency components within an electronic signal. The most well known use of equalization is in sound recording and reproduction but there are many other applications in electronics and telecommunications. The circuit or equipment used...
(to adjust the frequencies sent to the output - the equaliser is set up prior to, and is left untouched throughout, the performance) and a set of headphones
Headphones
Headphones are a pair of small loudspeakers, or less commonly a single speaker, held close to a user's ears and connected to a signal source such as an audio amplifier, radio, CD player or portable Media Player. They are also known as stereophones, headsets or, colloquially, cans. The in-ear...
(which project the sound back into the room - no other amplification is used).
This process of sound creation is somewhat similar to that of Toshimaru Nakamura
Toshimaru Nakamura
Toshimaru Nakamura is a Japanese musician, active in free improvisation and Japanese onkyo.He began his career playing rock and roll guitar, but gradually explored other types of music, even abandoning guitar and started working on circuit bending...
who uses a mixing console with its output connected to its input to create "no input" feedback. The techniques are not indistinguishable however; Yoshimura's music, unlike Nakamura's, can be altered by the noises which occur in the room in which it is performed (such an audience members moving or other musicians playing instruments etc.) because these sounds will be picked up by the microphone and alter the timbre
Timbre
In music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the...
or pitch
Pitch (music)
Pitch is an auditory perceptual property that allows the ordering of sounds on a frequency-related scale.Pitches are compared as "higher" and "lower" in the sense associated with musical melodies,...
of the feedback.
As a result of this, Yoshimura has the abiltiy to leave the music, if he wishes, to effectively play itself. By distancing himself from the musical process in this way (see indeterminate music and aleatoric music
Aleatoric music
Aleatoric music is music in which some element of the composition is left to chance, and/or some primary element of a composed work's realization is left to the determination of its performer...
) he raises questions of what can be called 'improvisation' and even, some may say, what can be called music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
. This is a recurring trend in much of onkyo - particularly Sachiko M's
Sachiko M
Sachiko Matsubara, who usually records as Sachiko M, is a Japanese musician, but she considers herself to be a "non-musician".She was a member of Otomo Yoshihide's Ground Zero from 1994 to 1997, where she used a sampler. More recently, she has concentrated on music made from sine waves...
work with sinewaves (e.g. her playing on Filament's
Filament (band)
Filament is a musical group from Japan that consists of Otomo Yoshihide and Sachiko M, two of the major exponents of the electroacoustic improvisation style of music....
album "29092000" on Sachiko's own 'Amoebic' label). Similarities can also be found with the music of composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
s like John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
(see 4′33″) and much process
Process music
Process music is music that arises from a process. It may make that process audible to the listener, or the process may be concealed. Primarily begun in the 1960s, diverse composers have employed divergent methods and styles of process...
and minimalist music
Minimalist music
Minimal music is a style of music associated with the work of American composers La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass. It originated in the New York Downtown scene of the 1960s and was initially viewed as a form of experimental music called the New York Hypnotic School....
. For many fans of the style this lack of involvement adds to the music's appeal.
(h)ear rings
(h)ear rings is the name of a record label founded and run by Yoshimura. As of March 2008 only two CDsCompact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
have been released, both involving Yoshimura as a performer, but the label extends its activities beyond record publishing. This includes organising live performances of improvised music in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
(mostly with Yoshimura, and others, performing) and publishing the "Santa journal.
Releases
Yoshimura has appeared on four released recordings. The first was a soloSolo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
disc titled "And so on" which was released in January 2007. Each of the tracks on the album were recorded by Yoshimura himself on three different dates and at three different locations. The first track, 'And,' was recorded at Loop-Line, Tokyo on July 9, 2005; the second track, "so," was recorded at Mone
Moné
Ramona DeSouza, more popularly known as Moné, is an American music recording artist and songwriter. She scored three hits on the US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart: "We Can Make It" , "Movin'" and "Partay Feeling"...
, Tokyo on August 7, 2005; the third, and final, track, titled "on," was recorded at Art Space Tetra, Fukuoka
Fukuoka, Fukuoka
is the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu in Japan.Voted number 14 in a 2010 poll of the World's Most Livable Cities, Fukuoka is praised for its green spaces in a metropolitan setting. It is the most populous city in Kyushu, followed by...
on September 22, 2006. Yoshimura mastered
Audio mastering
Mastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
the album himself and the artwork was supplied by Yuka Nimura.
The second release he has appeared on was a duo with Taku Sugimoto (who played electric fan, CD, acoustic guitar and lightsabers) which was recorded live, again by Yoshimura, at Loop-Line on July 8, 2007. The CD was released in October of the same year under the title "Not BGM and So On." As with "And so on," "Not BGM and So On" was mastered by Yoshimura and had artwork drawn by Yuka Nimura.
Yoshimura's most recent recordings are Santa with Taku Sugimoto and Toshiya Tsunoda, and Trio with Masahiko Okura (both 2008).