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Test Tone vol. 69

Counterpoints of Accelerated Springtime

Featuring Abarenbow Teng, Sajjanu, Hununhum, dbqp (lighting), and DJ Evil Penguin



Test Tone Homepage

Cal Lyall and Yasufumi Suzuki Special Interview!! (JP only)

Artist information:

Abarenbow Teng

Welcome to the resplendent solo guitar project of Abarenbow Teng, a masked musician from the Tokyo underground choosing to perform incognito. Taking some cues from a select list of post-rock heroes, Abarenbow Teng weaves evocative themes into multi-layered aural tapestries, slowly composing a dreamy soundtrack to match any deep desert road trip.
Homepage / myspace

Sajjanu

With a 2009 release on John Zorn's Tzadik label, Sajjanu took their monolithic sound, amazingly conceived with only three members, to international ears.  Composed of an all-star trio of prog-rock shredders hailing from groups like Green Milk From the Planet Orange, Massimo and Mahiruno, the lunacy in the music may seem par for the course, but this project is something altogether unique.
Their elaborate compositions apparently come from a game of rock-scissors-paper, which ultimately decides who will write the next section of music. What results is a mixture of highform metal weirdness and downright unfathomable fun.
Homepage / myspace

Hununhum

With compositions that call to mind Hermeto Pascoal, Captain Beefheart and early Boredoms, Hununhum deliver twisted hardcore riffs with the same ease that they execute complex contrapuntal lines and syncopated vocal phrasing. Made up of vocals, sax, bass, guitar, drums, keyboards, percussion and more, the group has obviously emerged from a number of musical explorations that have evolved into a multiform arrangement of influences. Bewilderingly complex, yet eminently listenable, Hununhum offers a wild and unique musical journey.
Homepage / myspace

dbqp (lighting)

Recently, following a wave of laptop-centric visual artists, there has been a move back towards the analog and lighting aspects in live performance. dbqp has been taking this approach for a couple of years now with his lighting unit OHPIA, using overhead projectors with fluid textures and cell lighting for an overall psychedelic experience. With a completely DIY setup, he uses translucent liquids, holographic lighting, shadow pictures, psychedelic moving collage and video projection to create a world of alien-ghost sightings and other cosmic encounters.
myspace

DJ Evil Penguin

Master of disguises, Mexican top-hats, ambient rockabilly to minimal Hawaiian Kumulipo chants, the Evil Penguin poses the primordial question of evanescence against a backdrop of New Wave folk. Celebratory, subliminal, moment-to-moment. A Tasmanian treasure with a penchant for open spaces.

About Test Tone

A monthly experiment offering irregular art, music and performance in Tokyo.
The Test Tone series aims to offer a venue for diverse and challenging artists to bring their ideas to a larger community. As a free event open to the public, we hope to bypass the old economies in order to create new ones, while encouraging collaboration in all forms. A collage of media, sound and art in a space available to anyone off the street, the event is a bazaar of potential collisions, where passersby are treated to the unexpected.
For all of this, we found our home base at Super Deluxe, a unique space in Tokyo's midtown, providing a relaxed atmosphere within its modular interior. The event continues to be a celebration of off-kilter creativity in the city: from installation pieces to performance art and visual collaborations; from noise, electronica, ambient sounds and free rock to disorderly jazz and manipulated field recordings. To date, close to 500 artists have been a part of the event, together creating opportunities for unexpected improvisation, collaboration, and festival spirit.