Jaap Blonk 2015 Japan Tourヤープ･ブロンク！

Live: Jaap Blonk Solo Jim O'Rourke Solo Makigami Koichi Solo Blonk/O'Rourke/Makigami Session Artist Information: Jaap Blonk  Jaap Blonk (born 1953 in Woerden, Holland) is a self-taught composer, performer and poet. He went to university for mathematics and musicology but did not finish those studies. In the late 1970s he took up saxophone and started to compose music. A few years later he discovered his potential as a vocal performer, at first in reciting poetry and later on in improvisations and his own compositions. For almost two decades the voice was his main means for the discovery and development of new sounds. From around the year 2000 on Blonk started work with electronics, at first using samples of his own voice, then extending the field to include pure sound synthesis as well. He took a year off of performing in 2006. As a result, his renewed interest in mathematics made him start a research of the possibilities of algorithmic composition for the creation of music, visual animation and poetry. As a vocalist, Jaap Blonk is unique for his powerful stage presence and almost childlike freedom in improvisation, combined with a keen grasp of structure. He has performed around the world, on all continents. With the use of live electronics the scope and range of his concerts has acquired a considerable extension. Besides working as a soloist, he collaborated with many musicians and ensembles in the field of contemporary and improvised music, like Maja Ratkje, Mats Gustafsson, Joan La Barbara, The Ex, the Netherlands Wind Ensemble and the Ebony Band. He premiered several compositions by the German composer Carola Bauckholt, including a piece for voice and orchestra. A solo voice piece was commissioned by the Donaueschinger Musiktage 2002. On several occasions he collaborated with visual computer artist Golan Levin. He has his own record label, Kontrans, featuring a total of 21 available releases so far. Other Blonk recordings appeared on Staalplaat, Basta, VICTO, Ecstatic Peace, My Dance The Skull, Monotype, Plant Migration Records, Elegua Records and Scumbag Relations. His book/CD 'Traces of Speech' was published in 2012 by Hybriden-Verlag, Berlin. A comprehensive collection of his sound poetry entitled "KLINKT" came out as a book with 2 CDs in August, 2013. [Jaap Blonk Official Website](http://www.jaapblonk.com) Jim O'Rourke  Born 1969 in Chicago. O’Rourke encountered the music of Derek Bailey as youngster and began visiting him in London at the age of 13. Eyes opened to the power of improvisational guitar, he released several of his own highly experimental works and has worked closely with John Fahey and Loren Mazzacane Connors. During his long association with the Chicago experimental and improv scene O’Rourke participated in several bands and projects including Gastr Del Sol and Loose Fur. His work with Takehisa Kosugi music director of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company as well as Tony Conrad, Arnold Dreyblatt, Christian Wolff and others built bridges between contemporary and popular music. O’Rourke’s release of landmark albums Bad Timing and Happy Days in 1997 and Eureka in 1999 garnered much attention. From 1999 to 2005 he was a member of Sonic Youth, playing bass, guitar and synthesizer as well as recording and mixing the band. In 2004 he won a Grammy Award for his production of Wilco’s A Ghost is Born. O’Rourke has also earned a loyal following for his participation in numerous albums by various artists around the world. He has a deep knowledge of Japanese culture and currently lives in Tokyo. Some of his many production credits in Japan include Quruli, Kahimi Karie, and Eiko Ishibashi. He also continues to be a consummate collaborator, working with Akira Sakata, Merzbow, Yoshihide Otomo, Seiichi Yamamoto, Boredoms and others. His recordings of Toru Takemitsu’s Corona for pianists Tokyo Realization was awarded the Agency for Cultural Affairs Arts Festival Award for Excellence in 2006. He has also scored films by Werner Herzog, Olivier Assayas, Shinji Aoyama, Koji Wakamatsu and others. His own short films have been part of the 2004 and 2006 Whitney Biennial and the 2005 Rotterdam Film Festival. O'Rourke is a diverse and powerful artist. Always searching, his borderless activity goes beyond the common labels Alternative, Post-rock, Experimental-pop, Film music, Free music, Jazz, Americana, Contemporary music and continues to defly classification. Photo: Ujin Matsuo Makigami Koichi  [Homepage](http://www.makigami.com/) Subsidy from: Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands