Test ToneTest Tone

Test Tone vol. 38
Ambient Elegies and Spectral Improvisations
Step into an evening of well-hewn soundscapes and subtle discoveries. Vast spaces, multivalent drones and beautiful bursts of texture from a diverse collection of performers from Japan and overseas.
Featured artists: Marko Ciciliani (from Amsterdam) + Yoshio Machida (Amorfon), KO.DO.NA, Mukai Chie (er-hu) + Tetragrammaton (TOMO / Cal Lyall / Nobunaga Ken), Onnacodomo




Test Tone Homepage

Artist Information:
Marko Ciciliani (from Amsterdam) + Yoshio Machida (Amorfon)
A tireless explorer of new forms, composer and musician Marko Ciciliani has taken his extensive academic experience, garnered in such diverse places as New York, Hamburg and The Hague, and applied it to a myriad of contexts. While composing works for orchestra, ensembles and sound installations, he also pursues collaborative activities in the realms of free improvisation and pop music.
On this night, we'll be treated to both sides of this unique artist. In the first set, Marko will present a performance piece investigating the possibilities of applying light in musical compositions, using lasers and no-input mixing board. In the second set, he'll be joined by steel pan player (and formidable artist in his own right) Yoshio Machida, who has taken his instrument to magical new levels, moving through worlds of ambient minimalism, post-rock or electroacoustic dub with equal fluidity. This one comes recommended.

KO.DO.NA
While I was attending a show a couple of years back, someone pressed a recording into my hand and in the confusion of the evening, I didn't get a name or actually even remember the kind soul who had handed it to me. A couple of weeks later, I happened to play that collection of songs, a sublime, playful and beautiful album, and it didn't leave my CD player for at least another few weeks.
Eventually I found the source of these recordings – innovative trumpeter/multi-instrumentalist Kazutaka Kuroki and electronic musician Yuichiro Kinoshita, who are still making lush ambient soundscapes under the name KO.DO.NA.
If all goes as wonderfully as the last time they played at SuperDeluxe, you're in for a spellbinding treat.

Mukai Chie (er-hu) + Tetragrammaton (TOMO / Cal Lyall / Nobunaga Ken)
For the past 25 years, Chie Mukai has been an active force in the free improvisation scene both in Japan and around the world. Since taking up the kokyu (a traditional Japanese stringed instrument) in the mid-70s, Mukai has earned a reputation as a powerful and original voice on her instrument, from her captivating solo performances to her improvised and song-based work with a number of legendary groups (East Bionic Symphonia, Ché-SHIZU, Enkidu, dadunr). Over the past decade, she has been examining collective improvisation in a large-scale format as curator of the Perspective Emotion international multimedia art festival and workshop.
In the collaborative spirit of her work, Mukai will be making an appearance at Test Tone accompanied by free-rock/drone mavens Tetragrammaton (TOMO, Cal Lyall, Ken Nobunaga), who will be taking the opportunity to kick their addiction to overblown noise freakouts and adopt a more conciliatory tone for the evening.

Onnacodomo
Taking their inspiration from moments and objects from everyday life, visual unit Onnacodomo make the ordinary decidedly extraordinary. Eschewing computer-generated graphics or recorded material, the three members (DJ Codomo, Yasuko Seki and Ruka Noguchi) perform in real time using a video camera to capture their spontaneous creations. Shimmering projections are created using water, mirrors and an array of lights, while a world of fantastic images is constructed with found photos, kitchen utensils, toys, stationary and improvised artwork. Kaleidoscopic, absurd and unreal, Onnacodomo takes you into a slightly-unhinged world that is absolutely original in its conception.