by Andreas Stuhlmann
Roppongi is usually a place where — well, everybody knows . . .
Even if it used to be much more crowded than it is today, Gaijin-packed clubs and Latinophile dating-bars dominate the scene. Places that once bore proud titles, such as "cutting-edge club" seem to have decreased in motivation/money/power, and there hasn’t been the smell of a music avant-garde for several years. But since composer/producer Hideki "Qupe" Kato met DJ Meg-Bee (Megumi Izumida), a light has begun to shine on Roppongi Dori.
| Qupe, who grew up in a family of musicians in Hiroshima — pianist father, singer mother — left for Hong Kong after graduating from Tokyo Ongaku Daigaku, to work as a composer and musician for Eddie NG and Faye Wong. But playing bass in Mrs. Wong’s band was not really fulfilling, so he returned to Japan with the vision of creating something that’s definitely missing in this town (as it is also for HK): a place for creative, open-minded artists to come together, exchange ideas and collaborate. |
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In terms of the music scene, as well as for the art, film, or performing arts scene, there are a huge number of artists scattered all over Tokyo, but it’s a Sisyphean job to dig them up without having a central clearing-house.
Luckily, once in a while people appear on the scene, with great ideas and the energy to really start something. Qupe and Meg-Bee are such people, and in 1996 they launched the New Church Project, with a revolutionary event, Club Church. This has — as they like to emphasize — nothing to do with religion, but is meant to be a place where people with the same intention can come together. Located near Roppongi Street, across from Wave, the place to continue Tokyo’s pioneer work in terms of electronic, experimental music was set, but soon it was roughly interfered with by gentlemen with perms and tattoos. Club Church closed its doors. |
That was just when mastering engineer Kim Ken showed up. Equipped with a small but fine recording studio right around the corner, the master scholar of producer/composer Seigen Ono — the godfather of Japanese avant-garde and high-class music production — joined the team, since he had the same things in mind. Active as a DJ and sound-producer, like Meg-Bee, Kim Ken is called "sound-magician" by his friends, and his sound-production and engineering work is considered ground-breaking. He has been working with DJ Krush, and — together with Qupe — he was also responsible for various fashion and hair shows during the past two years, including the recent show by the late Miles Davis’ clothes designer, Kohshin Sato, (who also designed the great cover for the maxi-single taken from the recent Miles Davis-remix album) and hip London-based hair designer, Begonia.
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The last man to join forces with the newly-born trio is photographer/musician Chris Coppola from Paris. Having been in Tokyo for about half a year, Coppola was invited to join the team right after they heard a tape of the band, Geenomes (featuring multi-media artist Frank Sinistra and Japanese singer Takuya Matsumoto) that he used to play with back home in France. Since the troupe grew to a quartet, it was their goal to produce a CD, and the conditions were relatively easy: each band-member was assigned a number of home-produced tracks to come up with. Qupe and Kim Ken had the knowledge and experience, and the recording and production facilities were right there. The name AUN (which can be roughly translated as "timing," "harmony," or "matching") was chosen, and the product — a CD titled Hikari, produced by Church — was released in early August. It features three pieces by Kim Ken, five pieces by Geenomes, and six by Qupe, performed on various instruments, and reproduced and remixed jointly, using synthesizers and computers. |
| It’s not an easy job to describe the music, but the flyer for the release party on 7/31 comes close when it says: "Future Classical with ambient, tribal, abstract, and experimental elements." Adding "jazz and minimal techno" should give a good idea of the music. (Arto Lindsay, who spent a couple of weeks in Japan to negotiate with Avex about the production of his new album, bought a copy.) The homogeneity of the pieces on the album, and also the beautiful artwork by lightpainter Patrick Rochon and by Hiroshi Kanemaru, explain the band’s name, and it arouses curiosity as to what AUN might come up with next. They are already working — as a real band — on tracks for their next CD, and it’s pretty obvious that a new Japanese avant-garde is born, one that will leave space for participation and improvisation; produce events, fashion shows, and CDs, and have open arms for all interested people. |
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| AUN are DJ-ing every Wednesday at Ambient Bar Bul-Let’s (3401-4844) near Roppongi Dori/TV Asahi Dori crossing. They are currently producing the music for the installation by photographer, Tadayuki Naito, African Vibration, at Benesse Communication Gallery, Tama City. |
For more information,
call Church
(3408-1875),
or
Kim Ken Studio (3478-4084).