Li Jianhong’s Japan Diaries: Dramatis Personae

by Ben

[Note: to avoid confusion, family names are in capital letters below.]

LI Jianhong 李剑鸿
Our intrepid protagonist, Hangzhou-based noise guitarist, half of D!O!D!O!D! (together with Huang Jin 黄锦), organizer of the 2pi festival and founder of 2pi records.

Marqido
Japanese musician, the electronic half of the duo 10, Li Jianhong’s host on this tour.

itta
Korean musician, the theatrical and vocal half of 10.

Hideo IKEEZUMI 生悦住英夫
Proprietor of the PSF record label and Modern Music store. His PSF label reissued D!O!D!O!D!’s Ghost Temple album and organized this tour.

Shoji HANO 羽野昌二
Japan’s best free jazz drummer, according to Li Jianhong, and the substitute for Huang Jin on this tour.

NARITA Munehiro 成田宗弘
Psychedelic Japanese guitarist, half of the influential group High Rise.

Zbigniew Karkowski
Polish-Swedish composer and performer, founding member of Sensorband, based in Tokyo for several years.

Ainotamenishis 愛のために死す
Psychedelic punk band opening for Li Jianhong at the UFO Club, subsequently appearing on the PSF compilation Tokyo Flash Back 6: P.S.F. Psychedelic Sampler.

Shizuo UCHIDA 内田静男
Bass player in Keiji Haino’s 灰野敬二 Nijiumu 滲有無 project. Attended Li Jianhong’s show at UFO Club. Designed the artwork for the PSF re-release of the D!O!D!O!D! Ghost Temple album.

Seiichi YAMAMOTO 山本精一
Japanese guitarist, formerly of the Boredoms. Owner of the live music venue Bears in Osaka and the Ummo Record label.

Koyuki 小雪 (translated literally as “Little Snow” in early posts, whoops)
Manager of Super Sonic China, agent and promoter for the Shanshui 山水 records in Japan. Organized Li Jianhong’s second Osaka performance at New World cocoroom.

Iida 饭田 and Tanaka 田中
Friends of Koyuki, and hosts of Li Jianhong, Marqido, and itta in Osaka.

YOSHIKAWA Masatoshi 吉川昌利
Another friend of Iida’s who accompanied Li Jianhong around Osaka.

Tetsuharu MASUDA 増田哲治
Opening act at Bears in Osaka, performing guitar noise processed with delays, loops, and feedback. Designer of effects processors.

Masonna
Japanese noise musician unexpectedly found working in the Alchemy store in Osaka.

Carl Stone
American composer and performer, based in Tokyo and San Francisco, and also on the faculty of the Media Department at Chukyo University in Japan.

HUANG Jin 黄锦
Drummer in D!O!D!O!D! who wasn’t able to make the trip to Japan with Li Jianhong, so Japanese drummer Shoji Hano substituted for him on this Japanese tour.

Asahito NANJO 南条麻人
Psychedelic Japanese bassist, the other half of the influential group High Rise, whom Li Jianhong would have you know has not given up the bass for guitar.

SUN Dawei 孙大威
Better known as Sulumi, the Beijing-based 8bit artist, head of Shanshui records. Koyuki, who organized Li Jianhong’s second show in Osaka, is the agent and promoter for Shanshui in Japan.

Yoshiyuki “Jojo” HIROSHIGE 広重嘉之 or JOJO広重
Osaka-based guitarist, the one constant member of Hijokaidan 非常階段. Founder of the Alchemy label and record store, were Li Jianhong bumped into Masonna.




Li Jianhong’s Japan Diaries, Days Nine, Ten, and Eleven

by Ben

At long last, here are the final 3 days of Li Jianhong’s Japan Diaries, just over a year from first to final post. I took advantage of itta and Marqido staying at my house to clear up my last remaining questions on the translation. Many thanks to everyone who helped out, including Dajuin, Lawrence, itta, Marqido, Chio Kawada, and Huang Zhuojun. Corrections or comments are still welcome.

Now what shall I read next…?

December 17, 2008
The concerts are all over, so now all that’s left is to be a happy tourist. I’d be happier if I had some money to spend, ha ha. But that doesn’t matter, most of the time money doesn’t buy happiness.

Unfortunately today itta was sick with a cold and a fever, so she and Marqido stayed home at Iida’s place. Iida and his friend Yoshikawa Masatoshi 吉川昌利 accompanied me to go stroll around Osaka.

We first went to Shinsaibashi 心斋桥 to check out a market specializing in second-hand clothing, a really big place. The top floor was nothing but second-hand clothes of every kind, trousers, shoes, hats…they had everything, and everything was arranged very clearly. For example, Levi’s Jeans were all hung according to size, making it very convenient to choose the right pair. There were so many pretty and fashionable clothes, and huge numbers of young people shuttling back and forth inside, picking out some clothes, trying them on, then trying on something else. Too bad, I didn’t buy anything.

Afterwards we went to a keyboard store. Inside were all kinds of second-hand keyboards and effects processors, all kinds of effects boxes stacked up like gold bricks, extremely enticing. It was a good thing I had already withstood the temptation of Ochanomizu’s second-hand music stores; otherwise I would have had my heart broken all over again. I saw a Gibson Firebird V, made in America, almost like new, at a very good price. It seems if you had some capital to invest, you could make a good profit buying equipment here and selling it elsewhere.

Afterwards, we went to the birthplace of the Alchemy label, the CD store opened by Jojo Hiroshige JOJO広重. Just like the Modern Music store, this place is on the second floor, with the door covered in D!O!D!O!D! posters, and very small inside. Upon entering, I saw a salesperson with long hair, dressed all in black, very cool. I thought to myself that this guy strongly resembles Masonna. Prior to this, I had no idea he might be here. But I didn’t want to pry, so I just minded my own business, turned around, and started browsing through the CD’s.

In addition to local new music from PSF and Alchemy, there was a wide selection of European and American rock and psychedelia from the 60’s and 70’s, such as Hawkwind, Can, Amon Düül II, etc. And the music playing in the store was also this kind of old rock, just like in Modern Music. It seems the influence of old rock from the 60’s and 70’s on Japanese new music is truly significant. In fact, looking deeper, Japanese noise goes quite well with this early rock. Lots of noise musicians listen to hard rock, Kraut rock, prog rock, art rock, etc., each of them absorbing nutrition, energy, and inspiration.

In the end, I finally chose a double CD called Alchemism, a 20-year retrospective of music on the Alchemy label. On it, in addition to extreme noise music by the likes of Merzbow, Hijokaidan 非常阶段, The Incapacitants, and Masonna, most of the rest was early rock, such as Sekiri 赤痢, SS, SOB 階段, etc. There were also some tracks from JOJO’s former group Ultra Bide and Seiichi Yamamoto 山本精一. After listening, the feeling could be summed up in one phrase: original flavor. Besides the idea I mentioned earlier , that it’s important to find your own angle and dig down deep, this idea of “original flavor” is another important aspect of Japanese new music. Careful attention to mastering your own style and finding your original flavor are the twin nuclei of Japanese new music.

As I was paying for my purchase, I asked the salesperson, “Are you Masonna?” He replied, “Yes!” It seems my earlier guess was correct. I asked if I could take a picture of the store, and he said, “Of course you can, we’re selling your CD’s here.” Afterwards we chatted for a bit.

After we left, the weather suddenly changed, and the drizzle unexpectedly turned to hail. I thought to myself that previously I had only seen such a strange and sudden change of weather in Yunnan.

At nearby Sankakukouen 三角公园 we ate the famous local octopus, which is rolled up into little balls, ha ha. It’s a fashionable place in Osaka for boys and girls to gather together. When the weather is good, there must be a lot of open-air performances.

Finally we returned to that musical instrument shop we visited earlier, and I bought a loop pedal. It’s the newly released Boss RC-2, which I still haven’t seen for sale in China. They didn’t have any second-hand models on sale, so I just bought a new one.

After we got back to where we were staying, we started to pack, since our long-distance train was leaving at 10 pm, arriving in Tokyo at 7 am, 9 hours of travel.

As we were leaving, Iida gave me a copy of Derek Bailey’s book Improvisation: Its Nature and Practice 即興演奏の彼方, which had been strongly recommended by those guys. Too bad it’s in Japanese. I thought to myself that it would be so much better if there was a way to translate it into Chinese. There are too many books on music without a Chinese translation, which is really too bad.

December 18, 2006
After returning to Tokyo, we passed out for a bit. At noon, I contacted Karkowski by phone, but we had to cancel our plan to record today, since his friend’s recording booth was already in use. So we were out of luck.

Very well, said Marqido, today let’s go shopping and be happy! After eating lunch, we went to Harajuku to visit the Meiji-Jingu shrine. This shrine was originally constructed in honor of the Meiji Sun Emperor and his mother. Every year on New Year’s Day, people from all over come to pay their respects. The gigantic inscription above the door is Japan’s largest. Inside, the ceiling is constructed of ancient wood, adorned with crows. As it happens, some rite was being performed inside the Meiji-Jingu shrine; the specific details weren’t clear, but Marqido said what we were hearing was Japan’s most ancient music. I hear that the divinations performed in this shrine are very accurate, but I didn’t stick around to find out for myself.

Afterwards, we walked along a footpath kitty corner to the Harajuku subway station. It seemed to be the famous Omote-sando 表参道, the one with two big eyes at the intersection. This really is a place for young boys and girls to gather. Both sides of the street are lined with Tokyo’s most fashionable clothing and jewelry stores, all of them with their own unique style, vying for the attention of the young passers-by. Everywhere you look, fashionable young guys and beautiful girls shuttle back and forth along both sides of the street in every kind of shop, dressed up in traditional uniforms, or decked out in punk or rock attire, or in kawai style, or in cosplay, each one individual and different. It was a pleasure just to enjoy the spectacle. The three of us couldn’t help doing some shopping ourselves. I bought a second-hand jacket, my only luxury purchase, excluding musical gear, since arriving in Japan.

But the happiest surprise was when we suddenly stumbled upon a wondrous, hidden, second-hand synthesizer shop. All kinds of Moogs, Korgs, and Yamahas were stacked up on the floor, filling the room. They also had monitors, effects processors, even a few old Theremins, along with lots of other stuff. Several young shopkeepers were inside busily testing out newly received equipment; it looked like they were repairing talking robots. Not only did the place look like a space ship control center, but lots of these old machines were plugged into speakers, so we could play happily. You can be like a spaceship captain, launching any waveform or signal into whatever direction you can imagine.

Our stroll finally brought us to Shibuya. Evenings in Shibuya can only be described as bustling, with every kind of neon light and billboard; it made me think of Ghost in the Shell. Standing on the street, I thought of my friend Lao Fang 老方. He would surely enjoy Shibuya, since he loves crowded places, and this place was seriously crowded. When the light turns green, from all four directions people crowd into the middle of the street, then quickly disperse in every direction. It seemed like a scene from a movie played back sixteen times faster.

Interestingly, in the second-hand section of one CD store, on the Noise/Avant-garde rack, I discovered a D!O!D!O!D! album selling for 1470 yen, ha ha! Well OK, since they were selling my album, I bought a few second-hand CD’s there for myself: two Derek Bailey disks, one Naked City, and one David Shea.

When we finished shopping, Marqido suggested going to visit a friend, and I thought he was referring to a friend’s concert. When he said the name, it didn’t ring a bell. I only knew that he said this guy has been making computer music for a long time, and Karkowsky should know him. Only when I saw his face and exchanged greetings did I recognize elder statesman Carl Stone. He said, you must know my old friend Yao Dajuin 姚大钧, and I replied, of course I know him, we just played a show together in Hangzhou [the 2pi Festival 2006]. Carl Stone invited everyone to a bar to chat. He and itta and Marqido chatted quite happily, but I couldn’t keep up with the language, so I just listened on the sidelines.

December 19, 2006
My return flight to China is a little after five in the afternoon. I got up at eleven in the morning and decided to prepare a Chinese meal for Marqido and itta to thank them for their hospitality. I originally planned to make some taro pork chops, but unfortunately the store stocked neither taro nor pork chops. So I just prepared three very simple dishes: Chinese yam with scallions, stir-fried egg and tomato, and shredded pork with celery.

After eating, I packed my bags and went out the door. Good-bye, Japan.

Thanks to everyone I met in Japan who assisted me and extended such friendship.




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