COMPUMA
“SOMETHING IN THE AIR -the soul of quiet light and shadow layer-”
By Minoru Hatanaka
Aromatic imaginary soundscape
Heard in the music is the singing of birds, the murmur of a creek, the sound of the breeze, the buzzing of a bug, the sound of rain and so on. These sounds of nature remind one of a place outside surrounded by trees. The guitar draws filaceous sounds over the soundscape, where abstract electricity sounds are overlaid to add another layer on the nature sounds. It overlaps with the images of nature and naturally blends into the scenery. In the way the theremin was believed to be an instrument that plucks music from the ether in the air, created here are sound images of a sign of an invisible presence, or a kind of ambience we can only sense. The calming space carries an atmosphere of something floating in the air.
This piece of work was made to celebrate the 150th year in business of Ujikoen, the traditional tea wholesaler, this year (2015). The client was originally expecting music like BGM playing in a Japanese tea-serving cafe, but it went deeper and ended up being a mind soundscape that leads to a tea room in another dimension. Its theme is the encounters among ‘tea,’ ‘sound’ and ‘light’. For instance, the question whether it is possible to make us feel the morning light and the aroma of tea through music the same way we really do. It is similar to the music that exists like the color of light and the sound of rain as Brian Eno once put it, but not the same.
COMPUMA,竹久圏 SOMETHING IN THE AIR -the soul of quiet light and shadow layer- SOMETHING ABOUT（2015）
The natural sounds, recorded at a tea garden in the mountains located in the south of Kyoto Prefecture, were given tweaks to by COMPUMA and mixed with electronic sounds, and featuring the guitar by Ken Takehisa, the guitarist from rock bands KIRIHITO and GROUP, the imaginary soundscape of a tea garden was completed. A back stage tour of the tea garden and manufacturing process was given in advance of the production.
The piece consists of seven scenes, each which invites us to a different ‘tea’ experience. Of course you can enjoy listening to it with a cup of tea; however, you will rather have an experience to 'feel' as this soundscape itself is tea, a garden, and a tea field.
