Li Jianhong’s Japan Diaries, Day Three

by Ben

December 11, 2006
At noon, the head of the PSF record label Hideo Ikeezumi 生悦住英夫 invited everyone for lunch. He’s such an ordinary looking, middle-aged man, completely contrary to my expectations. While eating we talked a bit about Chinese music, and he said he didn’t really care for Cui Jian 崔健. He asked me what kind of rock music I like, and I said I’ve always liked rock from the 60’s and 70’s. He smiled and said, “Me too!”

This Tokyo tour was arranged by PSF as a promotion for the Japanese re-release of D!O!D!O!D!’s “Ghost Temple.” Since in the end drummer Huang Jin 黄锦 [the other half of D!O!D!O!D!] didn’t come along on this trip, Hideo Ikeezumi said he’d like to put together a Japanese D!O!D!O!D! He originally called Tatsuya Yoshida 吉田達也 to be the drummer, but Tatsuya Yoshida was unavailable, so he arranged for Shoji Hano 羽野昌二 to collaborate with me. Hideo Ikeezumi said Shoji Hano was Japan’s best free jazz drummer. He’s made a lot of collaborative recordings with Peter Brötsmann, as well as with Derek Bailey. I recall that the Improvised Music from Japan website had an entry introducing his work. Also collaborating with us on this performance was Munehiro Narita 成田宗弘, a very important guitarist in the new wave of Japanese psychedelia. Together with bassist Asahito Nanjo 南条麻人, he founded the most famous group in this movement, High Rise. (And I’d like to put to rest the common misconception back in China that Asahito Nanjo has given up bass for guitar.)

To tell the truth, I’m really looking forward to tonight’s show. I’ve heard High Rise’s stuff, but I’ve never heard Munehiro Narita play solo, and now we have an opportunity to listen and learn from each other. Shoji Hano has also been renowned for a long time, so to have the chance for this kind of collaboration is certainly cool.

After eating, we went to the PSF label’s Modern Music CD store. This musical stronghold is already becoming quite legendary. I had heard it was small and crammed full of CD’s, but I didn’t imagine it would be this small and crammed this full; there wasn’t room for four or five people to turn around. The store stocks a full range of albums besides the PSF releases. There’s all kinds of early Japanese progressive rock, as well as every kind of experimental classical, jazz, etc. I finally saw that 50 CD Merzbow boxed set, a really thick box sitting in the corner of the room.

At Modern Music, there’s a strong feeling of being pressed for time. You really want to choose something, but you feel there’s no way of choosing. You want this one, but you also want to buy that one, and in your excitement, time swiftly slips through your hesitating fingers. Since we had to perform in the evening, we had no time to waste, so in the end, I didn’t buy anything. Hideo Ikeezumi gave me a copy of a live Fushitsusha 不失者 concert from 1991 on DVD and a G-Modern magazine. He also gave me a big pile of D!O!D!O!D! CD’s that he said was to sell at my concerts in Japan.

Sound check was at 4pm, and the venue was Showboat in Kōenji 高円寺, a renowned bastion of live performance in Tokyo. Upon entering, I saw Shoji Hano and Munehiro Narita already sound checking. Shoji Hano’s hair is grey, but his spirit is lively. When he speaks, you can see he’s really just an old rocker. Munehiro Narita is comparatively sedate and quiet. After introducing ourselves, we went on stage to try to make some noise, and the initial results weren’t bad.

In the evening, the first to perform was 10, comprised of Marqido and itta. 10 as always maintained their own kawaii direction, a kind of pop experimentalism. Their music is unpretentious and highly concentrated, but not extreme.

Next up was the Japanese version of D!O!D!O!D! with me and Shoji Hano. His drumming was always changing unpredictably, with lots of suspense, and since it was our first time playing together, I wasn’t playing as irascibly and extreme as back home. Between the two of us, we looked for ways to achieve a better synergy. The performance had some very good passages, as well as some transitions that didn’t come out smoothly. But overall, it was a very good improvised collaboration.

Next up was Munehiro Narita’s solo set, just as intoxicating as I expected. Each step he took was more daring, each layer more far out. His guitar had a strongly individualized timbre, imposing and threatening, a tightly integrated sound.

The last performance was a trio free improvisation with me, Shoji Hano, and Munehiro Narita. This time it felt more relaxed than our previous performance. As much as possible, I tried to distinguish my tone from Munehiro Narita’s. We also took turns soloing against each other, just like a rock concert, ha! For me, this was the evening’s most brilliant set.

Hideo Ikeezumi was also very happy. He said, “Today all three of you were really impressive; for your first time playing together, it wasn’t bad at all!” Then he gave me a few thousand yen for our late night snacks.

About 15-20 people attended the concert, more or less. Apparently, all over the world, the audience for avant-garde concerts is the same. Marqido said this wasn’t a bad turnout, and my albums were selling for 15000 yen, so I made a small fortune. I also bumped into a friend from Hunan. What are the odds of that?




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