Tetuzi Akiyama
Encyclopedia
Tetuzi Akiyama (born 13 April 1964) is a Japan
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 guitarist, violinist, and instrument-maker.
Akiyama formed the improvisation group Madhar in 1987, and the classical ensemble Hikyo String Quintet in 1994 (which also included 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 .....
on cello). In 1995, Akiyama and Sugimoto formed a guitar duo, and played at venues in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, and Detroit. During this time, Akiyama was also a member of Keiji Haino
Keiji Haino
Keiji Haino born May 3, 1952 in Chiba, Japan, and currently residing in Tokyo, is a Japanese musician whose work has included rock, free improvisation, noise, singer-songwriter, solo percussion, psychedelic, minimalism and drone styles...
's Nijiumu outfit. Akiyama also formed Sutekina Tea Time (a duo with Takashi Matsuoka
Takashi Matsuoka
Takashi Matsuoka is a first-generation Japanese American writer. He lives in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, and worked at a Zen Buddhist temple before becoming a full-time writer. His books about American missionaries' visits to Japan are often compared to Shōgun and other books by British...
) and Mongoose (a trio with Taku Sugimoto and Utah Kawasaki).
In 1998 Akiyama began organising a monthly concert series, The Improvisation Meeting, with 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...
. In December 2006 he began a regular duo with Hervé Boghossian (France), they toured in Europe (France, Portugal, Switzerland, England) several times in 2007 (in May, October & December) & also played in Tokyo during Hervé Boghossian japanese tour in August/September 2008. In 2009 he worked with David Sylvian
David Sylvian
David Sylvian is an English singer-songwriter and musician who came to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead vocalist and main songwriter in the group Japan...
.
Solo
- Relator (Slub Music, 2001)
- Resophonie (A Bruit Secret, 2002)
- Enha 4 (with Yoko Naito) (Enha, 2003)
- Don't Forget to Boogie (Idea, 2003)
- Playback 08 (Commune-Disc, 2004)
- Playback 09 (Commune-Disc, 2004)
- Route 13 the Gates of Hell: Live in Tokyo (Headz, 2005)
- Pre-Existence (Locust, 2005)
- Terrifying Street Trees (Esquilo, Portugal, 2006)
- Striking Another Match (Utech, 2006)
- The Ancient Balance to Control Death (Western Vinyl, 2008)
Duets
- International Domestic (Corpus Hermeticum, 2003)
- Tetuzi Akiyama / Richard Francis (with Richard FrancisRichard FrancisRichard Francis was a famous English cricketer who played for the Hambledon Club.Francis is known to have been a Surrey man by birth and he had played for Surrey teams before moving to Hampshire...
) 7" (CMR, 2003) - Proletarian Drift (with Jozef van WissemJozef van WissemJozef van Wissem is a Dutch minimalist composer and lute player.Composer and lutenist Jozef van Wissem is devoted to what he terms “The Liberation of the Lute”...
) (BVHaast, 2004) - Playback 087 (with Paul Hood) (Commune-Disc, 2004)
- Oimacta (with Martin Ng) (Improvised Music From Japan, 2004)
- Points And Slashes (with Günter MüllerGünter MüllerGünter Müller is an Swiss composer, improviser and visual artist based in Lupsingen, Switzerland.Günter Müller is a German sound artist that originally performed as a percussionist and drummer active primarily in free improvisation....
) (Erstwhile, 2005) - Till We Meet Again (with Jason Kahn) (For 4 Ears, 2005)
- Vinegar and Rum (with Donald McPhersonDonald McPhersonJohn Donald McPherson was a Canadian figure skater. He is the 1963 World Champion and the 1963 Canadian national champion. He represented Canada at the 1960 Winter Olympics, where he placed 10th at the age of 15...
) (Bo'Weavil, 2006) - Hymn For A Fallen Angel (with Jozef van WissemJozef van WissemJozef van Wissem is a Dutch minimalist composer and lute player.Composer and lutenist Jozef van Wissem is devoted to what he terms “The Liberation of the Lute”...
) (Incunabulum, 2007) - Semi-Impressionism (with Toshimaru NakamuraToshimaru NakamuraToshimaru 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...
) (Spekk, 2009) - 13 & 14 for Guitars (with Taku SugimotoTaku SugimotoTaku 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 .....
) (slubmusic tengu, 2009)
Trios
- At Penguin House (with Mongoose) (Slub Music, 1999)
- Hokou (with Taku SugimotoTaku SugimotoTaku 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 Bo Wiget) (Corpus Hermeticum, 2001) - Luwa (with Utah Kawasaki and Jason Kahn) (Rossbin, 2001)
- Bject (with Utah Kawasaki and Masahiko Okura) (Hibari Music, 2002)
- Futuro (with Tim BarnesTim BarnesTimothy Kent "Tim" Barnes is a Democratic party politician in Tennessee, representing the 22nd District as State Senator since 2009. He is perhaps best known for his primary challenge of then-State Senator Rosalind Kurita in 2008.-External links:...
and Masafumi Ezaki (Quakebasket, 2004) - Object 4 (Locust, 2004)
- Ailack (with Jason Kahn and Utah Kawasaki) (Creative Sources, 2005)
- Willow Weep And Moan For Me (with Oren AmbarchiOren AmbarchiOren Ambarchi is a multi-instrumentalist who in major plays electric guitar and drums, with longstanding interests in transcending conventional instrumental approaches. He was born in Sydney, Australia in 1969 to a Jewish family originally from Iraq....
and Alan LichtAlan LichtAlan Licht is an American guitarist and composer, whose work combines elements of pop, noise, free jazz and minimalism. He is also a writer and journalist.-Biography:Licht was born in New Jersey in 1968...
) (Antiopic, 2006)
Quartets
- Akiyama/Taxt/Lønning/Reinertsen: Varianter av døde trær" (SOFA, 2008)
- Nero's Expedition (with Johan Arrias, Leo Svensson and Henrik Olsson) (mono, 2009)
Listening
- Solo performance June 2006 at SASSAS sound. concert archives