DARDADARDA

CARL STONE: DARDA

Multi-channel benefit prayer performance for the recovery of Japan

Carl Stone’s composition Darda was created out of multiple layers of the live vocalizations of Makiko Sakurai, who is a practitioner of Shomyo, the ancient form of chant associated with the Tendai sect of Buddhism in Japan. Following the premiere of Darda in 2009, the piece has been performed in Tokyo, New York, Berkeley and Los Angeles. In this new version Stone has adapted the work for the amazing 18 channel sound system of Super Deluxe and will feature Ms Sakurai’s live vocals along with contributions from cellist Hiromichi Sakamoto and bassist Pearl Alexander. Morgan Fisher’s light paintings will be projected into the multi-channel space as well. Stone thinks of this new version as a digital prayer for the victims of the Great Earthquake of Japan 2011, and proceeds from the concert will go to benefit those victims and their families.

In the first half of the concert composer Christophe Charles also joins Carl Stone for a laptop duet, a first time collaboration between two pioneers of computer music.

Featuring: Carl Stone (digital electronics), Makiko Sakurai (vocals), Hiromichi Sakamoto (cello), Pearl Alexander (bass), Christophe Charles (laptop), Morgan Fisher (projections)



Artist Information:

Carl Stone

Carl Stone is one of the pioneers of live computer music, and has been hailed by the Village Voice as "the king of sampling." and "one of the best composers living in (the USA) today." He has used computers in live performance since 1986. Stone was born in Los Angeles and now divides his time between California and Japan. He studied composition at the California Institute of the Arts with Morton Subotnick and James Tenney and has composed electro-acoustic music almost exclusively since 1972. His works have been performed in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia, South America and the Near East. In addition to his schedule of performance, composition and touring, he is on the faculty of the Information Media Technology Department, School of Information Science and Technology at Chukyo University in Japan.
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photo by K. Oizumi

Makiko Sakurai

Makiko Sakurai studied piano at Nara Temple and at Osaka University of the Arts. Since 1986 she has studied Shomyo,an ancient form of chant associated with the Tendai sect of Buddhism with teachers Genshin Nakayama and Ryoshu Kamiya. Sakurai occasionally combines her solo chant with gagaku (medieval court music),and has adapted it for contemporary settings of her own and by Japanese composer Mamoru Fujieda and Ayuo as well as American composer such as Peter Garland and Carl Stone. She is the performer of female folk music and dance of Heian era. She has also studied Gagaku ,the japanese bamboo flute Ryuteki and Javanese gamelan in Surakarta, as well as Yemenite ritual and chant, and Navajo language in New Mexico. She has been in residence at the Wurlitzer Foundation in Taos, creating music and dance with children at Taos Pueblo in 2000.
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Hiromichi Sakamoto

Hiromichi Sakamoto (b. 1962, Hiroshima, Japan) is a cellist who plays not only the cello, but also performs using voices, musical saws, and other devices. In order to pursue and broaden the possibilities of the cello, he dares to use various effects, bumping and thumping, scrubbing, and goes so far as to use an electric drill or a grinder, producing sparks.   Besides performing solo improvisations, he collaborates with many other musician as well as people from other genres of art, such as movie, theater, the fine art, photography, butoh, and street performance. His activities are eclectic, crossing many boundaries. The musicians he played together at the past--->UA, Otomo Yoshihide, Uchihashi Kazuhisa, Haino Keiji, Lars Hollmer, Carl Stone and many others.
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Pearl Alexander (bass)

Pearl graduated from the University of Michigan where she studied double bass performance. She moved to Japan to focus on free improvisation. While living in Niigata Prefecture, she performed with butoh dance, visual artists and jazz musicians. Currently living near Tokyo, she has collaborated with a number of dancers and musicians. She has previously worked with Gianni Gebbia, Daisuke Fuwa, Yumiko Tanaka, and Toshimaru Nakamura among others. She regularly performs with Tetsu Saitoh in his bass ensemble, and will record a DVD with them in May set to be released on the Kadima Label. She played on two modern music recordings while at the University of Michigan. One of those recordings, Songs of Innocence and Experience conducted by Leonard Slatkin, won 3 Grammy Awards in 2006.
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Christophe Charles

Christophe Charles (born Marseille 1964), works with found sounds, and makes compositions using computer programs, insisting on the autonomy of each sound and the absence of hierarchical structure. Graduated from Tsukuba University (Phd., 1996) and ParisINALCO (Phd., 1997). Currently Associate Professor atMusashino Art University (Tokyo), has released music on the German label Mille Plateaux / Ritornell ("undirected" series), and on several compilations (Mille Plateaux, Ritornell,Subrosa, Code, Cirque, Cross, X-tract, CCI, ICC, etc).  Collaborations with musicians (Henning Christiansen, Shiomi Mieko, Chino Shuichi, Markus Popp, Hanno Yoshihiro/hoon, Kako Yuzo, Shibuya Keiichiro, et al), visual artists (Yamaguchi Katsuhiro, Yamamoto Keigo, Visual Brains, Osaka Takuro, Kai Syng Tan et al), and performers (Ishii Mitsutaka, Kazakura Sho, Osanai Mari, Ishikawa Fukurow, Salvanilla, et al).
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Morgan Fisher

Keyboard player / Composer / Producer / Light Painter. Born in London, England, on January 1st, 1950. '68~'76: Played keyboards in The Love Affair, Third Ear Band, Mott the Hoople, and his own progressive rock band Morgan. '78~'80: Art-punk album "Hybrid Kids," the cult classic "Miniatures" album (51 one-minute tracks by cutting-edge musicians from Robert Fripp to Hector Zazou) and his first ambient album "Slow Music" with Lol Coxhill. '82: Played live with Queen. '85: Moved to Japan, developed his improvised music, and created abstract photographs called Light Paintings (as on the Morgan's Organ album covers). Played with Japanese artists Yoko Ono, The Boom, and Haruomi Hosono. Recent works: an album with Hans-Joachim Roedelius (of Cluster), performances with The Minus 5 and Robyn Hitchcock, music for film and TV, two exhibitions of light paintings in Tokyo.
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